Alarming Attachment
by Defiant Vixen
Summary: It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation, but for Ray it’s anything but. Meeting a girl called Asia who annoys him and dealing with Kai who appears annoyed with him, what’s a neko to do? And what is it that Kai is hiding? ::Anti-OC, RayKai, Female!Kai::
1. Chapter 1

**Alarming Attachment**

**Summary:** It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation, but for Ray it's anything but. Meeting a girl called Asia who annoys him and dealing with Kai who appears annoyed with him, what's a neko to do? And what is it that Kai is hiding?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Anime Beyblade or any character associated. I do own Arista "Asia" Rainstorm. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not on based one anyone else's character, again if any likeness, it's purely coincidental.

**Warning:** Usage of a female OC. She is not the hero of the story, and the fic will not be centered on her. Any fans of OC pairings should leave now. Do not ask me to turn this fic into a Ray/OC or any other canon character/OC as I cannot stand such pairings. I have no hesitation in bashing my own created characters.

Another warning; I have turned a male character into a female disguised behind male clothing. The character's identity will not be revealed until later on in the story, but that characters identity is most likely already been figured out.

**AN:** Now that is over with, let me introduce myself. I am going by the name as Defiant Vixen. I am not new to this site. I have lurked around in the shadows for a long time now, but this is my first attempt at writing a story on this site. And my account is brand new.

Comments, suggestions, threats and flames are all welcomed.

* * *

**Chapter One:**

As he glanced up from his window seat, Ray can't help but let a smile present itself on his lips. The World's had just finished and Mr. Dickinson had just whisked the members of G Revolution away from a much needed and earned vacation. Nothing but rest and relaxation, he promised.

As he looked over his shoulder, Ray inwardly gave a small smile. Near the back of the bus was Kai, silently watching over the others as he had always done. He stared at the small group of much liverier bladers near the front as they laughed and played amongst themselves with a sense of longing. He tugged at his shirt and frowned to himself. He appeared to be some what uncomfortable in his choice of clothing for some reason.

A frown replaced the smile on his lips as Ray continued to study Kai from a distance. Ever since he met the holder of the holy Phoenix, he has had this feeling that he was hiding something. 

True, he's a mystery to everyone and isn't exactly willing to let that facade drop just yet, but still. What's he hiding?

Kai suddenly snapped his attention to Ray, an eyebrow raised towards his hair. "Something wrong, Ray?" he asked coolly.

Ray snapped himself out of his musings and shook his head. "I should be asking you that, Kai."

"Hn?"

"Is there something bothering you?" Ray asked as he silently hoped that a gentle prod was all he needed.

"It doesn't matter," Kai replied sharply and suddenly. "We're here now."

Startled, Ray turned and looked out the window and realized that they have indeed stopped moving. The bus was parked in front of an old two story building, vines and moss covered a good majority. Behind the building was a few free standing structures, either used as cottages or storage rooms.

From the corner of his eye, Ray noticed that Kai had removed himself from his seat and is now trying desperately to awaken Daichi who had fallen asleep during the trip. Ray decided to follow suit. He retrieved his belongings and moved to get off the bus. Too cramp and smelly for him.

An elderly man appeared to be his late forties, greeted Ray and his teammates as they disembarked from the mini bus. He was a tall gentleman, with short brown hair that was slightly graying at the sides. His face was wrinkled with years and years of stress and heartbreak as his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Welcome to Motel Fig Tree," he said as the bladers gathered their belongings and stopped in front of him. "I hope you enjoy your stay. We'll make it as peaceful as we possibly can."

"Oh Gwad," a young feminine voice snorted behind him. "Stop being so boring! You're such a stiff neck sometimes, jeez!"

The man gave a drawn out and tired sigh as he turned around, the muscles in his back tense with a sense of annoyance. "Arista…" he said irritably.

Everyone else turned towards the voice as well, the sight of a young girl near the age of 16 years appeared in their visions. She was wearing a white tank top under a red jacket with a red ruffled miniskirt, white leggings, and white and red striped sneakers finished the look. Her hair was rather unusual. Long light brown bangs hang lowly over her raven eyes, but as her hair fell over her shoulders, it turned to a dark chocolate color that reached the small of her back.

"Don't call me that, old man," the girl suddenly demanded and stamped her foot on the ground as she folded her arms across her well rounded and blossomed chest. "My name is Asia, not Arista."

"Arista," the man said again, his growing frustrations getting the better of him. "Do not talk to your father like that."

Arista, or Asia as she liked to be known as, simply stuck her tongue out at her father and defiantly walked past him. "I can do whatever I want and you can't stop me."

She stopped in front of their new guests and let her eyes wander over the group. Her gaze stopped on Ray and she immediately felt an attraction towards him. He was handsome with his long black hair, his shiny golden amber eyes and his dark olive skin. What a sight!

Asia giggled to her hand as she coyly walked over to him. She stopped in front of him and clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward, giving Ray a subtle view of her cleavage. She giggled again when Ray turned to look the other way, a light hint of red on his cheeks.

He blushed! Asia giggled once more and returned to her full height. She gazed at Ray for a little while longer and realized that he was a fraction taller than she is.

"Hi there," she greeted as she continued to clasped her hands behind her back, giving off the impression that she's sweet and innocent under her scrumptious and sexy curves. It's not her fault she had curves in all the right places.

Ray turned back to face her and flashed a charming smile. "Hey yourself."

"My name is Asia Rainstorm," Asia said as she removed a hand from behind her back and placed it over her heart in an innocent yet flirty sort of way and gave Ray a wink. "This old guy behind me is my father and he owns and runs this place."

Her father winced from her introduction and seemed to mutter something under his breath.

Asia ignored the muttering and spoke to Ray as if he was the only person there, and wasn't a part of a team. "Beautiful, isn't it?" she asked, indicating to the surrounding area with her hands in a grand gesture.

"It sure is," Ray agreed as he too looked at the motel grounds, trees and flower littered the land which gave it a really earthy feel to it. "You're lucky to live here."

Asia giggled into her hand again. She paused for a moment to look at Ray, taking in every inch of his profile. Strong and tall, charming and warm. Oh, what she would do to have someone like him as her boyfriend. The next two weeks are going to be fun!

"Yep," she agreed loudly, almost smugly. "It does have its advantages. So…"

Ray titled his head ever so slightly to the side, a confused look in his pretty amber eyes. "So what?"

Asia leaned forward and flicked Ray playfully on the forehead and childishly stuck her tongue out at him. "Your name, silly."

"Oh right," Ray laughed and rubbed his forehead. "Sorry about that. The name's Ray Kon."

"Please to meet you," Asia giggled once again, being the cheerful and perky person that she naturally is and looped her arm through Ray's and then proceeded to him away from the others, who had stood quietly in the back ground the entire time.

"Why don't I give you a personal tour?" she asked in a way that didn't sound like a question at all.

"Er…" Ray muttered as he wondered how he should respond when a hand clasped his shoulder tightly and pulled him back, breaking the arm link Asia had on him.

"He can't," a stern and hard voice commanded.

Ray blinked as he tuned around and faced his team captain. "Kai?" He looked annoyed about something. Ray could easily tell. He had been friends with Kai for a few years now, and even though much about the Phoenix wielder was still a mystery to him, Ray had learnt to read soft and subtle signs from him.

And by the way his right eyebrow was twitching; something was obviously not sitting right with him.

Asia pouted and placed her hands on her perfectly round hips. She glared hatefully at Kai and mentally noted that even though he was hot, he's also a bastard. Oh well, maybe she can help him to lighten up during his stay! Who knows, he might be a nice guy under that rough exterior.

"Why not?" Asia demanded.

Kai merely flicked his red eyes in her direction, a blatant amount of anger and irritation in his gaze. "Well, for starters, we have to place our belongings in our appointed rooms and then we have to attend a conference call with Mr. Dickinson."

Asia gave an undignified snort and folded her arms over her chest as she rolled her eyes, annoyed. "And here I thought this was supposed to be a relaxing vacation," she said dramatically before she turned to Kai to sneer at him. "You're such a workaholic."

"Indeed I am," Kai replied quickly and ignored the look of surprise on Asia's face when he disregarded her insult swiftly. No one has ever brushed her off so easily!

Asia felt tears prick at her eyes. That jerk! He was supposed to apologize for being rude!

"Now, if you excuse us," Kai continued. "We must leave."

"No," Asia stuck out her chin in defiance and grabbed Ray by the arm. "I'll show Ray to his room." She paused to glare at Kai again, and once again stuck her tongue childishly out at him again. "Since you're the oh-so intelligent captain, I think you can find your room all by yourself."

Despite her skinny and petit body, she was quite strong and easily pulled Ray away from the others. She latched onto Ray's arm and ignored his protests. She knew Ray wanted to walk with her; he was just trying to keep peace with Kai as well, who so obviously had feelings for her. Why else would he object to her showing Ray around the hotel in private?

"Wait-a-minute-!"

Of course Kai had a crush on her. Everyone does sooner or later. Everyone always said she had the presence and body of a Goddess.

"Kon," Kai's rough voice pulled Asia out of her thoughts. "You've got five minutes."

Asia simply huffed and stuck her noise in the air as she pulled Ray into the building and out of sight. "Humph! He's such a jerk!"

A sudden frown marred Ray's face and he stopped stock still, making Asia stop as well. "Don't talk about Kai like that," he practically hissed at her, the pupils of his eyes narrowed considerably. There was nothing more on this earth that angered him quicker than hearing someone call Kai a jerk or anything equivalent.

"But he is!" Asia insisted and tugged on his arm as she pouted. "You agree with me, don't you?"

Ray's anger grew in size and he abruptly ripped his arm away from Asia's grip. He ignored the fact that a startled look was now occupying Asia's expression. "No, I don't," he hissed again. "You don't know Kai the way I do. So don't you dare say anything like that about him again!"

Asia gave Ray a horrified look, her mouth agape. How could he possibly stand up for Kai? Of course he was a jerk!

Tears once again threatened to fall from her raven eyes and she snapped her mouth shut. A single tear rolled down her cheek and she dropped her chin to her chest and hid her eyes behind her hair.

Ray was angry with her. But why?

"You're right. I don't know him," Asia hiccupped as more tears fell. "It's just…ever since my mother died when I was little I always seem to find the worst in people. You see, my mother was murdered, a random mugging gone wrong."

A prang of sympathy hit Ray hard in the chest. "I'm sorry."

"I try to stay positive, you know," Asia continued, her face now buried in her hands. Why? Why hasn't Ray hugged her yet?She needed and wanted comfort. "But it's so hard some times. My father, he doesn't care about me. All he sees is the younger version of my mother."

Ray awkwardly patted her on the shoulder. He knows what its like to lose a parent. He was an orphan as well, and as an only child, you often wondered to yourself would this have happened if you weren't around. But still, that doesn't excuse her behavior and insults against Kai.

"I'm sure that isn't true."

"You wouldn't understand!" Asia continued to sob.

Ray sighed as he took her by the shoulders and forced her to look at him. "Look, don't cry," he said with comfort in his voice. "Just don't insult Kai in front of me again, ok?"

Asia sniffled pathetically and nodded, hastily ridding herself of her tears with tback of her sleeves. "Ok."

Suddenly, a bright smile appeared on her lips and she clapped her hands in front of her. "Great, now let's go see your new room!"

Ray found himself lost in a haze of confusion. One minute this girl was all spunky, the next she was crying, and now she's cheerful again.

And Tyson thought Kai and Hilary had bad mood swings.


	2. Chapter 2

**Alarming Attachment**

**Summary:** It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation, but for Ray it's anything but. Meeting a girl called Asia who annoys him and dealing with Kai who appears annoyed with him, what's a neko to do? And what is it that Kai is hiding?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Anime Beyblade or any character associated. I do own Arista "Asia" Rainstorm. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not on based one anyone else's character, again if any likeness, it's purely coincidental.

**Warning:** Usage of a female OC. She is not the hero of the story, and the fic will not be centered on her. Any fans of OC pairings should leave now. Do not ask me to turn this fic into a Ray/OC or any other canon character/OC as I cannot stand such pairings. I have no hesitation in bashing my own created characters.

Another warning; I have turned a male character into a female disguised behind male clothing. The character's identity will not be revealed until later on in the story.

**AN:** Thanks to all those who have read, reviewed, faved and put this story on their alerts. I am uncertain at this point in time whether or not there should be any pairings or just friendship. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Oh, and I just realized that I had anonymous reviews disabled. It's fixed now. Sorry about that. I know not everyone can be bothered signing in. Me included.

* * *

Chapter Two:

"Well, this is your room," Asia said excitedly as she pulled Ray into the room with her, releasing a giggle when Ray crashed into her. He quickly sprung back in surprise, an apology on his lips and a flustered look on his face.

"It's right next to mine," Asia continued and pointed at the wall on the right. "Isn't that great?"

Ray placed his bag on the bed and walked over to the window. He drew back the curtains and smiled. "It's got a great view," he replied as he stared out the window and down upon the green grass and flower covered hills.

Asia moved to stand beside Ray, boldly leaning her head on his shoulder and sighed deeply. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" she murmured, seemingly oblivious to the look of utter discomfort on Ray's face. "I like to spend a lot of time in my room. Don't you?"

Ray shrugged, causing Asia to lift her head with an annoyed pout on her lips and she narrowed her eyes in a disapproving manner. It was a sweet moment and he just had to ruin it! He's a little skittish. She can easily fix that.

"Not really," Ray replied to her answer.

A look of surprise appeared on Asia's face and she mentally scowled. She thought Ray would have agreed with her. "Oh?"

"I prefer being outside in the fresh air and lying in the sun," Ray explained as he pushed away from the window and over to his bag. He picked it up off the floor and placed it on his bed. He riffled through his belongings as he gave him the perfect excuse not to face Asia at the moment. She's started to get a little overwhelming.

"I guess it's the neko part of me. The garden is so beautiful, I bet I won't be staying inside all that much. Only coming inside to sleep," Ray paused for a moment and smiled to himself as the next words tumbled from his mouth. "Kai doesn't let me stay outside to sleep. He always comes out, no matter what time it was and drags me back inside."

Asia found herself frowning when she recognized the feeling of fondness in Ray's voice and pressed her lips together tightly. "I don't know how you can just lie in the sun, on the dirty ground like that," she muttered darkly, cutely scrunching her nose up. "It's icky."

Ray gave a dry and forced laugh. "It's a quirk of mine, I guess."

"You certainly are weird," Asia huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest and threw herself down on the bed, paying no mind to Ray's belongings as they fell to the floor.

That comment offended Ray greatly and he pressed his lips together tightly in an attempt to hide his annoyed expression. He can't help imagine how she would react if she ever found out that he lives in a dusty little hut in the middle of the Chinese mountains. No electricity, no running water or sewage.

He hid a scowl behind his hair as he picked up his possessions that Asia had carelessly pushed to the floor. He glanced up at the clock and muttered a small prayer of thanks under his breath.

"Oops, gotta go," Ray said as he hid his relief behind a tone of disappointment. "Kai's waiting for me."

"Can't he wait?" Asia asked in an angry tone. She is sick and tired of hearing about Kai. Kai this, Kai that. You'd think he was a God or something!

Asia sprung up from Ray's bed with a girlish laugh and grabbed Ray's arm with her two hands. "I want to show you my room first!"

"I can't," Ray told her quickly as he pried her fingers off his limb. "I'm apart of this team and I have commitments."

"Surely, Kai won't mind," Asia said as she rolled her eyes before she pouted and dropped her grip. "He needs to lighten up a little."

Ray ran a hand through his hair. "Look, maybe later, ok?"

That seemed to satisfy Asia for the time being and she nodded her consent. "Ok!" she said cheerfully. "I'll find you after the meeting! I still have to give you the grand tour!"

--

Kai tapped his fingers on the conference table in front of him and swore under his breath. Ray was late. He was hardly ever late before.

A real deep seated sense of annoyance burned in Kai's chest when he thought about the person that was with Ray. Asia, or whatever the hell her name was. There was something about her that made Kai's skin crawl. She was so rude, not only to him but to her own father for crying out loud!

He has only just met her and yet has developed a distinct distaste towards her already. She was rude, obnoxious, and flirty and seemed to hold herself in a higher regard than everyone else.

"Where do you think Ray is?" Max asked over the constant panicky voice of Kenny apologizing repeatedly to the BBA chairman who was sitting patiently on the other end of a conference phone call.

"He's probably making out with Asia," Tyson sniggered loudly.

Kai's fingernails suddenly scrapped along the top of the table, leaving scratch marks on the polished finished. He gritted his teeth, almost grinding tem together. He then drew in a deep breath through his nose.

Ray making out with…her? Urgh…

"Hey! Sorry I'm late!" A familiar voice pulled Kai out of his thoughts and he muttered a soft sigh of relief when he noticed that Asia wasn't with him.

"Hey Ray!" Max cheerfully greeted as Ray took a seat between him and Kai.

"About time you showed up," Kai grunted as he crosses his arms over his chest and leaned back in his seat.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Ray said as he placed apologetic hand to the back of his head. "I was just-"

"How's your new girlfriend," Kai interrupted him midsentence with a scowl. "Talking about marriage yet?"

Ray can't help but frown at the sudden question. "It's not like that, Kai."

"She certainly has taken a shine to you, though, Ray," Hilary said as she nodded her head in agreement to Kai's earlier question. "What's she like?"

Ray pressed his lips together and sat in silence. "She seems…friendly enough."

"Do you think she's pretty?" Kai suddenly asked him, his tone low and soft enough so that only he can hear him.

Although shocked, Ray found himself considering the question thoughtfully. "Hm, I guess," he replied. While Asia was not beautiful in his eyes, she was also not ugly. So in a sense, she must be pretty, right?

"Why?"

Kai frowned at the response and scowled at him. He quickly turned away from him and focused his attention elsewhere. "…Nothing."

The rest of the meeting was spent in a tense silence between Kai and Ray. Kai only spoke when spoken to and never looked in his direction when it was Ray's turn to speak. The conference was merely an information session from Mr. D. He explained to the boys that the BBA were grateful for all they had done and wished to give them a chance to relax and do the things they want to do for once.

The conference lasted a good hour, each second causing Ray's nerves to become more frayed at the deafening silence between him and Kai. Even though Kai was naturally silent, and Ray himself too on the quiet side, things had never been this silent before.

It was driving Ray insane!

After the meeting, Ray cornered Kai outside, intent of confronting him to find out how things had become so tense between them.

"Kai, what's wrong?" Ray asked blatantly as he had learned from experience that Kai doesn't like to be messed around with.

Kai merely grunted a short reply, once again his arms tightly across his chest in a hostile manner. "Nothing's wrong."

"Kai, you have been glaring at me for ages now. Just tell me what's wrong!" Ray demanded, on the verge of pulling his hair out in frustration. He's so-called relaxing vacation had only just begun and he was more stressed now than when he first arrived!

"Did I do something to annoy you? If I did, I want to apologize."

Kai remained silent, his eyes downcast. He frowned slightly, a prang of guilt settled in his chest as he tried to find a reasonable excuse for his behavior. How do you tell someone you're annoyed with them because of the company you keep?

Seemed kinda petty.

Ray took Kai's silence as a good indicator and pressed forward. "Are you annoyed at me or something?"

Kai's shoulders suddenly slumped forward and gave a tired sigh. "Ray, I…" he started to say something, something to explain his suddenly personally change, but a voice interrupted him. It was the voice that had caused this change in the first place!

"Ray, there you are!" Asia called out to him, her arm waving cheerfully in the air to grab his attention. When she reached him, she grasped onto his arm and nuzzled her cheek into his shoulder.

Kai immediately bristled at the contact but bit his lip to prevent himself from saying anything.

"The meeting over now?" Asia asked as she lifted her head slightly to gaze into Ray's eyes.

Ray pinched the bridge of his nose to prevent himself from groaning with annoyance. "Actually…"

"Great!" Asia cut him off as she giggled and tugged on Ray's arm once again. "You can finally start to relax now. No stress, no hassles and definitely no Beyblade training."

Asia's cheeriness soon dissipated when she turned her eyes in Kai's direction and gave him a cool sneer as she flicked a stray piece of light brown hair from her sparkling raven eyes. "Or is Kai making you train?" she asked tersely and then smirked proudly to herself when Kai seemed to bristle wildly again.

Ha! That showed him, didn't it?

"I don't mind training, actually," Ray told her quickly as he removed his arm from her grip yet again, his voice sound distressed. "And no, Kai hasn't said anything about training. He isn't a training Nazi, you know." He finished with a small hiss.

Kai gave Ray a surprised look when he realized he stood up for him and he allowed himself a small smile of appreciation.

Asia scowls for a moment before she fluttered his long and thick eyelashes at Ray again. "Of course not," she giggled and linked their arms together again. "Come on, I want to show you something."

Ray sighed in frustration. "Now?"

"Yep!" Asia said in a sing-song voice as she tugged him along. "You're holiday starts now! Quick, before workaholic Kai gets you to train!"

"Asia…" Ray said in a warning tone, but Asia simply stuck her tongue out at him in a cheeky and playful manner, still pulling him along.

Kai frowned when he realized Ray is letting her drag him away. "Ray?"

"I guess I'll talk to you later," Ray muttered as he disappeared from sight, Asia's giggling ringing out behind them.

Kai watched them leave and gritted his teeth together painfully. A deep frown marred his face and he muttered something in Russian under his breath. The word hate was simply not a strong enough word for Asia at that point in time.

He wasn't exactly sure why he hated her so. Is it because she had taken Ray's attention away from him…?

"Is there something wrong, Kai?" Max's voice suddenly asked, pulling Kai from his thoughts.

"Nothing to be concerned about," Kai muttered, not at all bothering to face the teen who asked the question.

"Wow," Max muttered when he caught sight of Ray and Asia as they strolled through the sea of flowers outside through an opened window. Asia has her arms wrapped tightly around Ray's and was resting her head on his shoulder. And Ray was letting her!

"Seems like Ray has an admirer."

"Yeah. They'll be girlfriend and boyfriend before this vacation is through!" Tyson laughed loudly.

Kai shuddered in disgust but hid it well.

"Ray wouldn't date her," Hilary said, with also a hint of disgust. "Would he?"

Tyson wriggled his eyebrows in her direction. "Jealous?" he asked, jokingly.

"Hardly," Hilary replied sharply and rolled her eyes towards the roof. "She just seems so…"

"Obnoxious and rude," Kai suddenly hissed, his teeth clenched and his muscles taut. He suddenly shook his head in a frustrated way before he turned on his heel and began to stalk away. "Excuse me."

"Wow," Tyson muttered as Kai disappeared from view. "What's Kai's problem?"

Max, too, watched his captain leave and shrugged his shoulders. "I guess Asia just rubs him the wrong way."

"He took the words right out of my mouth," Hilary muttered quietly to herself.

"Did you say something, Hil?"

"Oh no, it's nothing."


	3. Chapter 3

**Alarming Attachment**

**Summary:** It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation, but for Ray it's anything but. Meeting a girl called Asia who annoys him and dealing with Kai who appears annoyed with him, what's a neko to do? And what is it that Kai is hiding?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Anime Beyblade or any character associated. I do own Arista "Asia" Rainstorm. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not on based one anyone else's character, again if any likeness, it's purely coincidental.

**Warning:** Usage of a female OC. She is not the hero of the story, and the fic will not be centered on her. Any fans of OC pairings should leave now. Do not ask me to turn this fic into a Ray/OC or any other canon character/OC as I cannot stand such pairings. I have no hesitation in bashing my own created characters.

Another warning; I have turned a male character into a female disguised behind male clothing. The character's identity will not be revealed until later on in the story.

**AN:** Thanks to all those who have read, reviewed, faved and put this story on their alerts. I really do appreciate it. Also, I'm still debating whether or not to add a hint of romance to this. Obviously not between Ray and Asia, but Ray and Kai. Again any suggestions will be welcomed with open arms.

* * *

Chapter Three:

"Isn't this romantic?" Asia giggled as she rested her head on Ray's shoulder, completely oblivious to his discomfort. Here they were walking through the flowers and roses of the hotel's beautifully kept gardens, only each other as company.

Asia giggled again as she began to steer Ray towards the beautiful sculpted ponds. With all the water lilies and the cute gold fish swimming around in the crystal clear waters, what could be a better place for them to experience their first kiss together?

They'll exclaim their attraction to each other, decide to give dating ago and fall deeply in love. They were meant to be! After all, Ray did turn up at her family hotel. What more do they need?

"Yeah," Ray muttered a reply to Asia's question, but not giving her his full attention. Romantic wasn't the word Ray had in mind. Annoyed, frustrated, completely and utteredly confused? Yeah, that was the state of mind he's currently occupying.

Kai…just what was up with him? He seemed to hate Asia for some reason. Sure, she was rude to him and was a little overwhelming at times, but the two seemed to clash the moment they met. But that question, that question about whether or not he thought Asia was pretty came out of left field. He answered it honestly because hey, she's not ugly, but Kai's response to the answer left him baffled. He seemed disappointed, annoyed and dare say, jealous?

Kai was hiding something, something big and Ray came so close to finding out what it was, if only Asia hadn't appear when she did. Dealing with Asia's obsession with him and dealing with Kai being unpredictable, moody and mysterious on top of that, and it was no wonder he had a headache.

This vacation has only just begun and he hated it already!

"Arista!"

The sound of a deep voice tittering on the edge of yelling pulled Ray abruptly from his thoughts and the young brunette next to him bristled in annoyance. The voice sounded familiar and it wasn't until Ray heard it again did he recognize it.

"You're father is looking for you," Ray told the young woman.

"No he isn't," Asia muttered as she tightened her grip on his arm, her lips pressed tightly together in a frown.

"Asia…"

"He can wait," Asia replied sharply as she tried to pull Ray along faster. "I'm busy."

Ray dug his heel into the soil and stopped in his movements, causing Asia to momentarily lose grip on his arm. "What if it's important?" he asked.

Asia spun around and glared at Ray, so fearsomely that he physically reeled back in surprise. "I don't care," she hissed and moved forward and snatched his arm again, her long nails biting into his skin. "Let's go."

"Arista!" her father's voice called out, closer this time and not a moment later, he appeared in the clearing. "There you are."

Once again, Asia spun around, her face pulled into a deep look of anger. "I'm busy, old man. What do you want?" she asked as she stamped her foot on the ground, reminding Ray of a small child throwing a temper tantrum.

While he felt sympathy for Asia's father, Ray knew that this was the perfect opportunity for him to make a break for it. Silently and discreetly, Ray edged his way towards the thick green hedges that surrounded the path they were walking on, and soon only the sound of rustled leaves where left in his place.

A deep sigh of relief escaped Ray's lips as he quietly made his way through the gardens, his feline hearing picking up on the sound of running water. He followed his senses and they lead him towards a large pond, green water pads littering the water surface.

Ah, peace at last!

"Finally got away from the leech?" A familiar voice suddenly asked.

Ray whipped around, his eyes wide in surprise. He clutched at his chest in fright as he heart thundered in his chest. "Kai!" he yelped when he recognized the familiar figure of his team captain as he leant up against a tree, his arms folded over his chest in his usual stance. "How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me like that?!"

An amused look appeared on Kai's face for a moment before being replaced with his usual mask of indifference. "I didn't sneak up on you," he said coolly. "You walked in front of me. It appeared that you weren't looking where you were going."

Although embarrassed that Kai picked up on a fault, Ray chose to ignore it, instead he decided to turn their conversation back to their previous one; Kai explaining his behavior. "What were you going to say earlier, Kai?" he asked.

Kai's eyes shimmered with a sense of something Ray couldn't quite pick up before they turned into an unreadable sheen. "Nothing," he replied bluntly before he abruptly pushed himself away from the tree and moved to step around Ray.

But Ray's frustrations got the better of him and he suddenly reached forward and grabbed Kai by his shirt, not only catching the usually unshakable teen off guard, but off balance as well.

Kai looked surprised for a moment but quickly recovered as he wrapped his fingers around Ray's wrist, trying to get him to drop his grip. "Let go," he demanded with a hiss.

"Not until you tell me what's bothering you," Ray replied with an equally annoyed hiss.

Kai narrowed his eyes in a dangerous manner before he suddenly tugged at Ray's wrists while he reeled back abruptly. What happened next happened so quickly that neither teen had no idea what was going on.

All Ray heard was a loud rip and then he suddenly found himself leaning over Kai's surprisingly slim body, his hands planted on either side of his head as his knees leaned heavily on the ground next to his hips. Kai was flat on his back on the dirt, his arms above his head, and a look of blatant surprise on his face.

If anyone should happen to stumble across them by accident, they'd assumed that Ray was straddling Kai. Of course, that wasn't the case.

"Ray?" Kai stuttered uncharacteristically, his face lightly flushed with embarrassment.

Ray blinked silently for a moment, his mind not quite comprehending what just happened. His eyes trailed down to Kai's shirt, a feeling of guilt hitting him in the chest when he noticed that during his scuffle with Kai, he had ripped his shirt a little.

He opened his mouth to apologize for his behavior when he noticed something white sticking out from beneath Kai's shirt. He furrowed his brow in thought and narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"What's this?" Ray asked more to himself, than to Kai beneath him as he picked at Kai's shirt, lifting it up just a fraction. He managed to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be thick white bandages before Kai suddenly lifted his hips off the ground, causing Ray to become off balanced and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. With what appeared to have been done with little effort, Kai had now changed their order of position, Kai now leaning over Ray and sitting on his stomach.

"Don't touch me," Kai growled with his eyes narrowed but the flustered look still present. He had one hand on the collar of Ray's shirt while the other grasped at his own shirt, holding the black material of his clothing tightly together to hide any evidence of what was underneath.

"Are you wearing bandages?" Ray asked in a state of concern.

"That is none of your business," Kai hissed at him as his fingers curled tightly around his shirt.

Ray suddenly narrowed his eyes and he grabbed at Kai's wrist with his two hands and bared his feline fangs. "Like hell it isn't!" he practically yelled as he struggled under Kai's weight. He was surprisingly heavy despite being so thin.

"If you're hurt, don't you think that gives me the right to know?"

"I'm not hurt," Kai muttered quickly as the fearsome look in his eyes dissipated a fraction and Ray could have sworn there was an expression of guilt on his face.

Ray stopped struggling for a moment to regard Kai more calmly. "Then why are you wearing bandages?" he asked when he realized that yelling at his captain wasn't helping any.

But Kai dismissed his concern quickly. "It doesn't concern you," he muttered, looking off to the side. He hissed a little when Ray subconsciously tightening his grip around his wrist.

"What has gotten into you?" Ray asked suddenly as he narrowed his eyes again, his anger quickly reaching boiling point.

"Nothing has gotten into me," Kai said, once again brushing off his concern.

Ray's anger boiled over. "Stop dismissing my concern!"

"Stop being so concerned!" Kai quickly yelled back. He squeezed his eyelids shut tightly as he took a deep breath. He muttered something under his breath, in Russian Ray deduced, and shook his head as if he was trying to rid himself of an unwanted thought. "Look, it's my problem, ok? I'll…tell you when I'm ready."

He said the last part softly, almost tiredly. It was almost like he's been debating with himself for the longest time and was tired of it all.

"Kai…" Ray muttered softly, mildly aware that he's heart was going out to his captain. Kai had always appeared to be a lost soul to Ray, and despite his strong physically appearance, he could be quite fragile at times.

Well, emotionally fragile, anyway.

"Ray!? Are you here? Stop playing hide and seek! Jeez, what are you, ten years old?"

The loud voice of a certain daughter of a certain hotel owner ripped through the tension like a chainsaw and harshly pulled the two teens out of their thoughts. Kai suddenly leapt to his feet and clutched his torn shirt on his chest tightly with both hands. An annoyed look appeared briefly on his face for a moment before he turned on his heel and fled into the thick trees and bushes of the gardens.

Dazed and confused, Ray blinked as he pushed himself into a sitting position on the dusty ground, his eyes never leaving the direction that Kai had so quickly departed in.

"What was that about?" he muttered to himself.

"Ray!" Asia's voice but through the silence, steadily becoming annoyed with each passing second. "Where are you?!"

A deep seated sigh of frustration passed Ray's lips as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger when he realized that the voice of a certain young woman wasn't letting up. In fact, Asia was actually heading straight for him.

So much for avoiding her until dark…

"Ray!" Asia yelled loudly as she walked into the clearing. She stopped in her movement to plant her hands on her hips and stamped her foot once on the ground in anger. Her raven eyes are narrowed with annoyance and she glared at the surrounding trees and plants.

"Stupid plants," she muttered angrily as she looked around. She demanded that her father get rid of these useless things. They're only in the way and they dropped leaves all year round. What's the point of having trees if you're constantly picking up after them?

Suddenly, her face lit up when she noticed Ray on the ground. "Ray!" she giggled and skipped over to him, only to stop a few steps away and scowled at him, her hands on her hips in a disapproving way just again.

"Oh, ew!" she whined when she saw all the dust and dirt on Ray's back and shoulders, and she screwed up her nose when she noticed a stick hanging in his hair. "You're so disgusting! I can't believe you would roll around in the dirt like that. What are you, some kind of a wild animal?"

"I wasn't rolling around in the dirt," Ray snapped at her as he picked himself up off the ground and brushed the leaves and dust off his pants. Dammit, dammit, dammit! He was so close to finding out what was bothering Kai, when yet again, Asia interrupted. Ray was beginning to suspect that she was doing this on purpose.

With a small curse under his breath, Ray spun on his heel and started for the main hotel, only mildly aware that Asia was calling his name.

A million thoughts were racing through his head. Kai had thick bandages wrapped around his chest, and yet he insisted that he wasn't hurt. True, Kai often played down his injuries, and maybe the wounds he sustained during his battle with Brooklyn still remained.

Ray knew Kai was hiding something. Was he hiding his injuries from them? Was that the reason he seemed so annoyed lately?

"Ray! You heartless jerk! Stop ignoring me!"

In anger, Ray spun around and physically hissed at the young girl. "Stop bothering me, Asia. I've got something on my mind."

Asia reeled back in surprised, physically taking a step back. She blinked her raven eyes at Ray for a moment before her bottom lip trembled and she swallowed thickly. "You jerk," she hiccupped before she buried her face in her hands and began to sob. Her shoulders shook with each cries, her loud sobs easily reached Ray's ears.

And Ray felt like the biggest jerk.

"Woah, stop crying, ok?" Ray pleaded as he moved to stand in front of the young brunette and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I'm sorry that I seemed like I was mad at you. I just have a headache and it's making me irritable."

Asia abruptly took a step backwards and spun around to present her back to Ray as more sobs reached the surface. "You didn't have to take it out on me!" she cried.

"I know," Ray sighed as he placed his hand on her back and rubbed soothing circles to calm her down. "I'm sorry, ok?"

Asia continued to cry for a few more minutes, and her sobs slowly turned into sniffles. She turned around and rubbed at her eyes with the palms of her hand, much like she did the first time Ray saw her cry. "Fine," she sniffled. "I'll forgive you this time. But you better not do it again."

Ray smothered a sigh. "I'll try."

"Good."

"So," Ray said as he felt a bit awkward. "What is it that you wanted?"

"Oh," Asia said, quickly turning back to her perky and cheerful self. "I was wondering if you would like to go for a swim. I bought a new swim suit and I'm dying to show it off!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Alarming Attachment**

**Summary:** It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation, but for Ray it's anything but. Meeting a girl called Asia who annoys him and dealing with Kai who appears annoyed with him, what's a neko to do? And what is it that Kai is hiding?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Anime Beyblade or any character associated. I do own Arista "Asia" Rainstorm. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not on based one anyone else's character, again if any likeness, it's purely coincidental.

**Warning:** Usage of a female OC. She is not the hero of the story, and the fic will not be centered on her. Any fans of OC pairings should leave now. Do not ask me to turn this fic into a Ray/OC or any other canon character/OC as I cannot stand such pairings. I have no hesitation in bashing my own created characters.

Another warning; I have turned a male character into a female disguised behind male clothing. The character's identity will not be revealed until later on in the story.

**AN:** Thanks again to everyone who reviewed. Truthfully, I thought I wouldn't get any reviews for this story, so I am grateful for every single one of them. I think I might add a tiny bit of romance between Ray and Kai, but their relationship will be seen mostly as hints.

Again, any suggestions and comments will be greatly appreciated.

* * *

Chapter Four:

"Swimming?" Ray repeated with a sense of discomfort in the pit of his stomach. He stared at the young girl before him with a sense of unease as she looked at him expectantly. He was slightly nervous about replying. He didn't really want to go swimming right now, but if he said no, she might start crying again.

Asia's eyes suddenly narrowed as she tapped her foot impatiently. "Well?" she asked with a frown.

"I-"

"Swimming?" Another voice suddenly interrupted and the presence of Ray's blond teammate was most welcomed as Ray gave a small sigh of relief.

"You have a pool here?" Max asked with a cheerful smile on his lips, completely oblivious to the look of displeasure on Asia's face.

"Yes," Asia replied tightly, her frown grown deeper as she turned to glare at the other boy. "But I was only asking-"

But she was interrupted again. "Sounds like fun!" Tyson said as he walked over to the small group. "I'm in!"

"Me too," Hilary giggled as she pushed her way into the group. "I love swimming."

"You can't!" Asia suddenly blurted out as she once again stomped her foot on the ground, her hand curled into fists and planted them on her perfectly round hips.

Tyson looked startled at the outburst before he shared a puzzled look with those around him who are equally confused and turned back to Asia. "Why not?" he asked.

"Yeah, Asia," Ray found himself chiding in, slightly appalled at Asia's childish behavior. "Why can't they go swimming as well? I prefer to swim with more than one person."

Asia looked horrified at the thought that Ray would rather swim with his teammates in one big group than spend some quality time with her! She had no idea that he could be so rude! He seriously needs to lean some manners. Isn't he lucky that he had someone as hot and talented as she is to teach him?

But first, she needed to get Ray out of that filthy habit of spending time outside. It's so icky and disgusting!

"But Ray!" she whined as she suddenly leaned forward to get right into Ray's face and boldly rested her hands on his chest to glare heatedly up at him. "Don't you want to spend time alone with me? We haven't been able to all day!"

A look of utter discomfort appeared on Ray's face. "Er…"

"You guys can't go swimming."

Startled, Ray pushed Asia away from him and spun around to face the familiar voice. Kai stood away from the group, leaning against the wall of the hotel in his usual position; arms folded across his chest and a stern look on his face.

Ray was so happy to see him, he could almost kiss him! And it took him a second to noticed that that thought wasn't as appalling as it probably should have been and found himself frowning. Would he actually consider kissing Kai? Well…

But then he noticed that Kai was wearing a new shirt, a rather large dark black one, looked to have been made with a stronger material than his last. Ray's memory immediately fell back to his pervious thoughts; what is Kai hiding from him? Does he have an injury that he would rather not share with him?

Tyson also turned around to face Kai and he scratched the back of his head in confusion. "Why not, Kai?"

"It'll be dark soon," Kai replied quickly as his nodded his head to the slowly setting sun. "You can swim all day tomorrow. In fact, everyone can," he added as he narrowed his eyes in Asia's direction, a smirk on his lips when he noticed the young woman had clenched her jaw in anger.

"Kai's right," Max said as he nodded his head. "Tomorrow would be much better, don'tcha think?"

Ray nodded his head readily and subconsciously took a step away from the group, away from Asia more importantly. "I agree totally."

Asia pressed her lips into a thin line, but said nothing else. But, she did give Kai one of her hardest and venomous glares she could muster. However, it had little effect on him as Kai simply glared back at her. Asia reeled back in shock and felt tears prick at her eyes. She has never met anyone so mean to her! What is his problem, anyway?! He's on her territory. He should treat her better than that! Maybe she can ask daddy to kick him out?

He was always interfering! That stupid bastard…

Stomping her foot on the ground once again, Asia suddenly stuck her nose into the air and spun around. She absolutely hated it when people brushed her ideas away! Especially since she was always right!

"Whatever!" she yelled before she stalked off with her hands curled into tight fists by her sides and she stormed out of sight. To the bystanders, it appeared as if she was disappearing to sulk somewhere.

"What's her problem?" Tyson asked as he lifted his arms and rested them behind his head in a casual manner.

"I really don't know," Ray sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose for the umpteenth time that afternoon. Honestly, Asia was just so childish. She was really getting on his nerves.

Ray looked up just as Kai pushed himself away from the wall he was leaning on and headed inside. Ray pushed past the three members of his teammates and followed his captain inside. He hoped that Kai wasn't still mad at him for what happened. He was only concerned for his well being.

"Kai? Wait!" Ray called out but Kai kept on walking. He was either ignoring him or just didn't hear him. But to Ray the former seemed more plausible.

Ok, it appeared that he was still mad at him. He has to do something to get back on his good side. Ray had never liked getting on Kai's bad side mainly because it took him one step further away from achieving his goal; gain Kai's trust and never lose it.

Kai has somehow managed to become an important person to Ray. Even more so as of recently. In the past, he found himself trying hard to gain Kai's respect. He looked up to him and now wished that they were more than just friends. Like best friends, or something…

"I just want to apologize," Ray explained when he reached Kai on a flight of stairs that lead them to their bedrooms. He stepped in front of him and blocked his path.

"Why don't you apologize to your girlfriend?" Kai hissed as he tried to push past him.

Ray gritted his teeth and tried to stop himself from grabbing Kai by his shirt again. Instead, he opted to outstretch his arm and plant the palm of his hand on the wall next to Kai, blocking his path with his arm. "She's not my girlfriend," he said as he stressed the word 'not'.

Kai merely grunted and once again tried to push past him but Ray refused to drop his arm. "Move," he ordered.

"No," Ray replied defiantly, instead moving to stand directly in front of Kai and towered over him. Usually, it was Kai who stood taller than him by a few inches, but Ray had the height advantage this time due to being one step higher on the flight of stair than Kai was.

Kai frowned at Ray new sense of determination and unconsciously took a step back; one of his arms immediately placed itself over his chest as if to protect it. "What…?"

"I'm sorry," Ray said, mildly aware that Kai appeared startled by his apology. "About what happened in the gardens out side. I didn't mean to rip your shirt like that. That was wrong of me and I want to make it up to you somehow."

Kai gave Ray a suspicious look as he tightened his arm over his chest. He stared at Ray in silence for a moment and appeared in such a way that he wasn't sure how to take Ray's apology.

"I'm serious, Kai," Ray said softly when he noticed the unease in Kai's eyes and dropped his arm to reopen Kai's path. "No tricks."

"Ok…" Kai said slowly, his tensed profile easing slightly. "I'll…accept your apology, on one condition."

"Yeah?"

"Don't…" Kai seemed to hesitate for a moment; unease once again seemed to flicker in his gaze. "Don't let her go too far, ok?"

Ray felt genuinely confused by those words; even more so when Kai suddenly looked off to the side with what appeared to be a light shade of red on his cheeks. Was Kai blushing…?

"Kai?" Ray said as he reached out his hand to touch Kai on the shoulder but Kai turned just out of reach and walked around him. "What's wrong?"

"I'm going to my room," Kai said quietly and refused to look Ray in the face. "I'll see you later." He added before he took off up the stairs and out of sight, mildly aware that he left one flabbergasted nekojin behind on the stairs.

"Kai?" He murmured again. Ok, now he was really worried.

That night, Ray found it hard to sleep as he kept replying Kai's cryptic words in his head, over and over again. When Kai referred to her, he assumed that he meant Asia. But what did he mean not letting her go too far? Despite his notoriety of not being a people person, he can pick up on someone's personality with just one meeting.

Had Kai picked up on something about Asia that made him feel threatened?

Morning quickly came, much to Ray's relief and annoyance. Relief that he can now wander around without waking anyone else up. And annoyed because he only got a few hours sleep.

"I wonder if Kai is up yet…" Ray muttered to himself as he headed towards Kai's appointed room. He lifted his hand to give a quick knock and tested the door handle. When he realized it was unlocked, he turned the handle and walked in.

"You up, Kai?" Ray asked as he strolled into the room. But he quickly stopped dead in his tracks and his eyes widen considerable. Kai was up alright, and in the middle of getting dressed. It appeared that he had just unbuttoning his pajama top and was in the process of taking it off. He had on a pair of loose fitting track pants, black of course, the string tied tightly in a knot around his surprisingly flat abs and stomach. To Ray, he always imagined that Kai would have rock hard and well defined abs. Don't get him wrong, Kai has a six pack, but it looked a bit more softer in appearance.

But what drew Ray's attention more so than his flat stomach was the fact that Kai had thick bandages around his chest. They seem to start just under his armpits and end at the bottom of his ribcage. But Ray couldn't get a proper look to see if Kai was in fact hiding any injuries from him as Kai snapped his head up, his own eyes wide with shock and he immediately wrapped his pj top around himself tightly, hiding the bandages from sight.

Kai crossed his arms over his chest and took a step back in surprise. He, however, managed to compose himself and he glared heatedly at Ray. "Get the fuck out!" he snarled at him.

Ray blinked in surprised and quickly found himself turning on his heel as he scrambled out the door, just dodging something being thrown at him. It hit the wall outside Kai's room with a loud thud and then he had the door slammed behind him.

Ray leaned against the wall, staring at Kai's hotel door and he swallowed thickly. "What the hell was that about?" he muttered to himself.

"Dammit Ray!" Kai yelled through the door. "Don't you knock!?"

"I did!" Ray yelled back in defense. "You just didn't hear me!"

"You don't give a light knock and then walk into someone's room without permission!"Kai retorted angrily and Ray was slightly grateful that they had a wooden barrier between them. "I thought you knew better!"

"Well, someone got on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Ray muttered as he folded his arms over his chest and pouted. He soon regretted those words when he heard Kai suck in a quick breath.

"Don't start with me, Kon," he warned, sounding stressed and…nervous?

"Look, I'm sorry," Ray found himself saying once again, for what felt like the thousandth time since he arrived at this hotel. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"…How much did you see?" Kai asked after a moment of silence.

"I didn't see anything," Ray was quick to defend himself as his arms flailed out in front on him to prove his earnest even though his knew Kai couldn't see him. "I swear!"

Kai seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, yet oddly enough seemed to hold a sense of disappointment as well. "…Good," he muttered.

Ray picked up the tired tone in Kai's voice easily and he frowned. He finally pushed himself away from the wall and walked over to the door, and his hand hovered over the door handle in concern.

"So, are you coming out?" he asked.

Kai was silent at first but soon breathed another sigh. "…When I get changed," he replied. "I'll meet you later."

Ray felt disappointed and couldn't stop the tone from reaching his voice. "Fine," he muttered and turned to walk away. A part of him hoped that Kai would open the door just before he reached the end of the corridor, but no such luck.

Ray was getting annoyed…with himself mostly. All he seemed to do lately was get on Kai's bad side. He was annoyed with himself because each time he angered Kai, the harder it would be to find out what was bothering him. It bothered him that something was bothering Kai.

"Dammit Kai," Ray muttered to himself. "What are you hiding from me?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Alarming Attachment**

**Summary:** It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation, but for Ray it's anything but. Meeting a girl called Asia who annoys him and dealing with Kai who appears annoyed with him, what's a neko to do? And what is it that Kai is hiding?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Anime Beyblade or any character associated. I do own Arista "Asia" Rainstorm. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not on based one anyone else's character, again if any likeness, it's purely coincidental.

**Warning:** Usage of a female OC. She is not the hero of the story, and the fic will not be centered on her. Any fans of OC pairings should leave now. Do not ask me to turn this fic into a Ray/OC or any other canon character/OC as I cannot stand such pairings. I have no hesitation in bashing my own created characters.

Another warning; I have turned a male character into a female disguised behind male clothing. The character's identity will not be revealed until later on in the story.

**AN:** I truly am in awe with all the supportive (and very helpful and polite) reviews I've received. I am so glad to know that I am actually pretty decent at this. It's also a relief to know that I've managed to keep Kai and Ray in character (so far, at least). Yes, Asia is a right brat, isn't she? And she's only going to get worst! I hope you enjoy reading this latest chapter.

* * *

Chapter Five:

Wearing a simple pair of dark blue board shorts with a crimson red t-shirt, Ray stepped out into the courtyard to head towards the swimming pool, following the directions Asia's father gave him and the others last night during dinner. He was mildly surprised at how warm it was getting. It looked as if it was going to be a rather hot day.

Score one for Kai. Today was shaping up to be a much better day for swimming, just like he said it would.

Speaking of Kai, Ray wondered if Kai was even going to show up at the pool. Though the chances of Kai actually going swimming was slim to none, knowing his red eyed captain, Ray was certain that Kai will turn up. Just to keep an eye on the others, of course. Or keeping them in line, he would say.

Ray soon reached the resort style pool and made his way over to a sun lounge chair. He sat down and whipped his shirt over his head, the muscles in his back, stomach and chest rippled as he did so. He laid himself down on the sun chair and relished in the warmth of the sun. Ah, it felt good to lie around in just his board shorts. The warm breeze on his naked chest and stomach was amazing.

Suddenly his thoughts turned to Kai and he visibly winced when he remembered what he had witness just moments ago. When he first realized that Kai had bandages on, he didn't know they were so thick or covered so much skin until he accidentally walked in on him getting undressed.

That was actually the first time he'd seen Kai without a shirt on. Sure, they shared a room during the years touring together, but not once had he seen Kai get changed in front of him. He would either wait until he was done or head into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He wouldn't even get out of a sweaty and torn shirt into a new one unless there was somewhere for him to get changed in private.

Was Kai just a private person, super modest or was he hiding something…?

"Never missed an opportunity to lie around in the sun, do you Ray?"

Startled by the familiar voice, Ray sat bolt straight and looked around. His gaze immediately turned towards the form of his captain and was surprised to see him in something other than big pants and elaborate shirts. Kai also wore a pair of dark blue board shorts, but while Ray's ended just above his knees, Kai's ended about mid thigh that showed off a pair of slender and athletic set of legs. They were long and sleek with a hidden strength beneath the surface, nothing like Ray's own legs that looked muscular and powerful.

Wow! Ray finally understood where the phrase 'legs up to his neck' came from.

Once again, Kai had on a black t-shirt, thick and heavy duty it appeared. It's so big and loose, that Ray is unable to detect any hint of the bandages he knew Kai had hidden underneath.

It wasn't until Kai gave a forced cough of discomfort that Ray realized that he was staring and he quickly muttered an apology.

"You're not going swimming, Kai?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"Don't feel like it," Kai muttered as he glanced around at his surroundings with a sense of unease.

Ray studied Kai for a moment and chewed on his bottom lip. He can't get that image of Kai wearing those bandages he saw this morning out of his head. "Are your injuries bothering you?" he asked as move to sit on the edge of the sun chair and planted his feet on the ground.

"Dammit, Ray!" Kai suddenly hissed at him and turned to give him his full attention. "I don't have any injuries."

"So then why are you wearing thick bandages around your chest?" Ray asked as he stood up from his seat only to be startled when Kai moved forward quickly and clamped his hand over his mouth.

"Shh!" Kai hissed at him again and looked at his surroundings with a cautious gaze. "I don't want the others to know."

Ray snared Kai's wrist in his hand and inwardly noted how Kai's over hand moved to hover of his chest, his fingers nervously playing with the collar of his shirt. "If you just tell me what's wrong, I might be able to help you," he whispered to him.

Kai glared at him for a moment, his lips pressed into a thin line but then he sighed suddenly and his hand goes limp in Ray's grip. "Ray, look it's nothing, ok? Just drop it."

"No, I won't just drop it," Ray said stubbornly as he subconsciously took a step forward, their bodies mere inches apart. Their faces are so close that Ray felt Kai's warm breath on his lips and he found himself mildly wondering what they would be like to touch. They looked soft and supple…

"Just tell me yes or no," Ray continued as he pushed his pervious thoughts away for the time being. "Are you hurt in any way?"

"No, I'm not hurt," Kai answered with an uncharacteristically shaky breath. He seemed to be a little uneasy about the proximity of Ray's body to his. He appeared nervous, and yet unwilling to push him away. "Just-"

"Oh Ray!" Came the girly shriek that Ray was starting to have nightmares about. He was kinda hoping that Asia was still mad at him for what happened yesterday, but no such luck.

A moment later, Asia appeared, jogging up the pathway towards the pool. She had her hair up in a high pony tail with a pink flower behind her ear, but Ray's gaze was immediately drawn to her choice of swim wear, or lack of. She wore a white string bikini with a Hibiscus flower on one breast of her top and a blue one on her bottoms and…nothing else.

"How do I look?" she asked as she gave a little twirl and bounced a little in her step, her bust bouncing ever so seductively.

"Er…" Ray muttered, unsure how to answer that. That bikini…it's kinda small…Oh dear, that swim suit was an accident waiting to happen.

"I guess some girls will do anything to draw attention away from their faces," Kai muttered under his breath as he took a step back from Ray, removing his wrist from his grasp.

Ray found that funnier than he probably should have and forced back a laugh.

"Ray!" Asia said disapprovingly and placed her hands on her hips. She frowned and leaned forward, her bust bouncing as she did so. "What are you doing? I thought you wanted to go swimming, not talk to Mr. Wet Blanket over there."

Ray was no longer amused. And while Kai simply rolled his eyes at the insult, Ray bristled. "Don't call him that!" he hissed, startling not only Asia, but Kai as well.

"I can't help it if it's true!" Asia retorted as she stood up straight in such a way her bust jiggled again at the sudden movement. "He never does anything but brood. Jeez, a bit of excitement might kill him."

Ray felt his anger boil. He had specifically asked Asia not to insult Kai in front of him, and what does she do? "Asia, you are really starting to-"

Asia simply stuck her nose into the air and folded her arms under her chest as she turned away. "Don't be such a spoil sport!"

"Hey guys!" Yet again, Max's golden voice of cheerfulness broke the tension unwillingly.

"Ready to go swimming?" he asked as he appeared with the rest of the boys of the team behind, even Kenny was in his swim wear. "I haven't been swimming for ages!"

"Tell me about it!" Tyson said as he slapped Max good naturedly on the back. "This is going to be great."

Asia, who seemed to have forgotten about her fight with Ray, latched onto his arm and began to lead him away. "Come on, Ray," she said as she blatantly rubbed her breasts against his arm.

"Not right now," Ray muttered as he removed his arm from Asia's grasp, still annoyed with her and moved to stand near Kai.

"Ray!" Asia pouted childishly.

"Go on Ray; don't want to disappoint your girlfriend," Kai suddenly muttered to him, he himself sounding annoyed.

"Kai," Ray replied in an almost whining tone of his own. "She's not-" But Kai simply ignored him and walked away, pushing past both Max and Tyson.

"Kai, you can't go yet," Tyson suddenly said as he latched onto Kai's arm, stopping him dead in his tracks.

Kai raised an eyebrow in question. "Why not?" he asked simply.

"You haven't tried the water yet," Tyson replied as a mischievous grin appeared on his face. A grin that had grown on Max's face as well.

"Yeah, Kai," he said as he grabbed onto Kai's other arm.

Kai immediately looked uneasy as he glared at the two. "Don't you dare…" he hissed, but his warning fell on deaf ears as the two simply cackled with sadistic delight and with a combined effort, managed to push Kai into the pool. "Hey!"

Ray felt his breath hitch in his throat the moment Kai had hit the water and without a second thought, made his way over to the edge of the pool, ready to haul Kai out of the water quickly. Those bandages are going to be uncomfortable now that they are wet.

A half a second later Kai broke the surface of the pool and his arms immediately wrapped themselves around his chest as his thick black shirt clung to his slender body. The way Kai's shirt clung to his frame gave the impression that he was thinner than he really is and Ray was surprised to note that Kai seemed to be rather slender and curvy for a male his age.

Kai stood waist deep in the middle of the pool as he coughed harshly. Ray cringed when he realized that Kai must have swallowed some water when he was pushed in. As Ray jumped into the pool to get to Kai, he noted with sheer annoyance that Asia seemed to be laughing at Kai's misfortune all too readily.

"Are you ok, Kai?" He asked when he reached him and placed a hand on his back to help him cough a little easier.

"Fine," Kai grunted out as he removed one hand from his chest –the other stayed firm and taut- to push aside his dark gray bangs from his eyes and it was then that Ray noticed just how long Kai's hair really was. Not that it was wet; it easily reached the small of his back.

"Those two are so fucking dead," Kai hissed with a raspy voice as he shot a glare in the direction of his two sniggering teammates.

"You can kill them later," Ray whispered into his ear as his hand unwittingly slipped down from Kai's back to his waist as he guided him toward the steps to get out of the pool. "First let's get you out of here."

Kai sighed and muttered a small and short reply under his breath as he allowed Ray to help him out. As they reached the steps, Ray climbed out first and offered his hand to Kai, mildly expecting his captain to slap it away. Instead, Kai stared at the offending limb for a moment before he cautiously slipped his hand in Ray's. Ray felt startled for a moment, not that Kai was actually letting him help, but the warm feeling he got when Kai's hand touched his. Their hands seem to fit perfectly together and Ray made a subconscious decision to try to hold Kai's hand again.

As he was helping Kai out of the pool, Ray then noticed how slim and petit Kai's hand was compared to his. Sure, his fingers had battle scars but they were still softer and slender than his. If he didn't know better, he'd say that Kai hand was kinda girlish…

"Hey Kai?" Came Tyson's voice with a hint of teasing to it. "Did you enjoy your swim?"

Kai snapped his head up and immediately removed his hand from Ray's, much to the neko's disappointment and glared viciously at Tyson. He curled his hand that held onto Ray's moments ago into the fist and stalked his way over to Tyson. Without a word, he slugged Tyson on the arm and whacked Max on the back of the head before he stalked towards the hotel, still dripping wet.

Ray frowned at Kai's actions, but not at the fact that he punched Tyson and belted Max upside the head. He expected Kai to do that and hey, the two deserved it. No, what he was frowning about was the fact that Kai keep one arm over his chest where the bandages were the entire time. He said he wasn't hurting, so why was he guarding his chest like that?

"Gwad, he's a jerk!" Asia exclaimed with a whiney tone as she appeared by Ray's side to fold her arms under her bust, enhancing her bosom and cleavage. "How do you put up with such a prick?"

Ray spun around, his eyes narrowed into slits at the young girl. "Dammit Asia," he hissed dangerously, fighting the urge to push her into the pool. "If you insult Kai one more time…"

"But Ray!" Asia looked appalled that Ray would even think about defending Kai like that! It wasn't an insult, it was just the truth! Can't he see that?

"What's going on?" Came another female's voice and a moment later, the figure of a certain short haired brunette appeared. Hilary wore a simple, yet stylish mahogany red one piece swim suit with a tied halter top. Around her hips she wore a white sarong and a pair of white sandals. "Did I miss anything?"

"Tyson and Max just pushed Kai into the pool!" Daichi explained loudly as he rested his arms behind his head in a casual way. "But he didn't like that very much."

"Oh, you two!" Hilary scowled the two boys and wagged her finger at them as she placed a hand on her hip in a disapproving way. "Leave Kai alone. If he doesn't want to go swimming, then he doesn't want to go swimming, ok?"

"Oh, lighten up, Hilary," Tyson replied as he rolled his eyes but rubbed his arm furiously to get feeling back into his dead arm. "It was just a bit of fun."

"Don't worry," Max said as he rubbed the back of his head while looking sheepish. "We'll apologize later."

Hilary huffed as she placed both her hands on her hips. "You better," she said warningly before a smile appeared on her face and she clapped her hands together. "But now, let's go swimming!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Alarming Attachment**

**Summary:** It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation, but for Ray it's anything but. Meeting a girl called Asia who annoys him and dealing with Kai who appears annoyed with him, what's a neko to do? And what is it that Kai is hiding?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Anime Beyblade or any character associated. I do own Arista "Asia" Rainstorm. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not on based one anyone else's character, again if any likeness, it's purely coincidental.

**Warning:** Usage of a female OC. She is not the hero of the story, and the fic will not be centered on her. Any fans of OC pairings should leave now. Do not ask me to turn this fic into a Ray/OC or any other canon character/OC as I cannot stand such pairings. I have no hesitation in bashing my own created characters.

Another warning; I have turned a male character into a female disguised behind male clothing. The character's identity will not be revealed until later on in the story.

**AN:** Sorry about the wait. I have no excuse other than work has gotten in the way. Thanks to all those who have read, reviewed, faved and put this story on their alerts. I've been enjoying myself while writing this story. Creating an OC than bashing her outright is quite a lot of fun. You should really try it yourself sometime.

As usual any suggestions, comments, threats or flames are welcomed and encouraged. I hope you enjoy the latest chapter.

* * *

"I'm going for a swim, Asia," Ray said with a tired and weary voice. He muttered darkly under his breath in his native tongue as he tried to make a break for it to get in the pool with the rest of his teammates. But a certain brunette with a peculiar nickname wasn't letting him. She had his arm grasped in her two hands, her barely covered breasts rubbing at his bare skin.

"This is the reason I came here," Ray continued, his patience all but gone. "To go swimming."

"But Ray!" Asia's high-pitched voice rung out and she let go of his arm to place her hands on her hips to give the disgruntled Neko a disappointed look. "Sun baking together is so much better. I want you to put sun screen on my back!"

Suddenly, Asia turned around to present her back to Ray. She then placed her hands at the back of her neck to seductively lift her hair up to show off her smooth and flawless back. "Don't you want to?" she asked as she fluttered her lashes at him from over his shoulder and gave her butt a little twitch.

Ray abruptly turned away and pinched the bridge of his nose. "If I put sunscreen on your back, 

will you let me go for a swim in peace?"

Asia giggled. "When my sunscreen dries, let's use the spa together. I'll be so romance, don't you think?"

Spa? Ray can't help but cringe at the thought of being in a tiny tub of water with only Asia as company. She'll try to…

He shuddered again. "After the sunscreen melts in," he murmured as he reluctantly grabbed the sunscreen bottle and made his way over to the young woman, grumbling all the way. He pressed his lips into a thin line when Asia practically squealed with delight and moved to lie on her on a sun chair.

Ray cursed again in his native tongue as he moved to knee by the sun chair and squirted a large amount of sunscreen into his hand. He put the bottle down and turned his attention to Asia's back. His eyes widen when he realized that Asia had just undid her top and she was now practically naked.

"Be gentle," Asia giggled as she rested her head on her arms. "I'm very ticklish."

Ray's eyebrow gave a violent twitch. He gave a guttural sigh as he very reluctantly placed the hand with the sunscreen on Asia's back, cringing when Asia giggled again. This was torture; he had no idea that placing sunscreen on someone's back was so cinge-worthy.

Suddenly, he found himself imaging that he was placing sunscreen on Kai's back and realized that that thought wasn't so disgusting. Actually, it would be kinda nice. His thoughts then drifted to the bandages that Kai had around his chest and wondered if he was alright after Tyson and Max threw him into the pool. When he broke the surface of the water, he immediately crossed his arms protectively over his chest.

If he's not hurt, then why was he guarding his chest like that? Dammit, it was driving him insane!

Hilary giggled to herself as she watched Max manage to dunk Tyson under the water, only to have him break through the surface a moment later. His arms flailed about at his sides as he coughed and spluttered comically. These boys are insane, but funny!

A content sigh passed her lips as she stepped out of the pool and moved over to the sun chairs to retrieve her towel. She dried her hair quickly and placed the towel over the back of her neck as she stretched. It felt so good to go swimming again. It's been ages!

"There, you're covered in sunscreen," Ray's voice caught Hilary's attention. "I'm going swimming now."

A bit of sympathy etched in her chest when she noted how desperate Ray wanted to get away from Asia. Hilary didn't know Asia very well, but to her she seemed to be nothing short of a brat.

But she really shouldn't cast judgment so quickly. It's not right.

"The water's great, Ray," Hilary told him as Ray moved past her and he gave her a very forced smile. Poor Ray…

"A one piece?" another female's voice scoffed. "Please, that is so last season."

Hilary blinked her chocolate brown eyes, slightly startled at the harsh, mocking tone of the only other female of the group. "Excuse me?" she said as she turned to face Asia.

Asia tied her top and adjusted herself, her breasts seemingly a cup size larger than the swim top.

"Don't you follow fashion? The low cut string bikini is in this year," she said with a sneer as she climbed to her feet. "But I guess some girls -like yourself- simply don't have the body for it. It's probably best that you stick with the one piece. After all," she flicked her hair over her shoulder and gave Hilary a smirk. "They're great for covering all your flaws. Well, most of your flaws, anyway."

Hilary was shocked at Asia's audacity before she felt angry. "Grr…" she growled as she curled her hands into fists by her sides and her body trembled with suppressed rage. "Is there a swim suit that can cover that mouth of yours?"

This time Asia was the one who looked shocked before she too turned anger. He huffed and placed her hands on her hips, appearing haughtily. "Humph! I'm merely stating facts. You don't have to be such a bitch, you old hag."

"Old hag!?"

Asia then turned back to her and gave her a very spiteful sneer. "The only reason the guys have you anywhere near this team is because they feel sorry for you. After all, it's not like you can blade or anything."

Hilary reeled back in shock. "What?"

That wasn't true, was it?

Asia smirked and folded her arms under her breasts. "Hit the nail on the head, didn't I?" she snickered before turning away and waved her arm excitedly in the air. "Ray! Let's use the spa together! Just the two of us, ok?!"

Hilary gritted her teeth together in sheer anger. "You have no idea what you're talking about," she hissed before she abruptly turned on her heel and practically stormed away. She curled her hands into fists by her sides as she headed inside the hotel. There, in the dinning room, she saw Kai sitting at one of the tables with a cup of coffee.

She managed to growl out a quick greeting as she walked over to the kitchen and ordered a bottle of water. Gwad, she was so pissed off! How dare that bratty little girl tell her that?! What the hell would she know, the brainless twit?!

"I thought you went swimming," Kai's voice cut through Hilary's inner rage like a knife through butter.

"I had enough," Hilary replied harshly as she grabbed her water bottle and held it in a vice like grip.

Kai raised the eyebrow at the obvious anger and seemingly murderous rage in both Hilary's voice and profile. "…Ok," he murmured as he took a sip from his coffe.

Hilary sighed and walked over to the same table Kai is sitting at and threw herself down onto a chair. "So, um, Kai?"

"Hn?"

Hilary chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. "What do you think of Asia?"

A look of sheer and unadulterated annoyance appeared on Kai's face and he also snarled. "I can't stand her," he hissed with narrowed eyes.

Hilary blinked at Kai's answer for a moment than she felt elated. "Whew, thank god! I can't stand her either!" she practically cried as she leant over the table and slammed her water battle down hard on the surface. "Do you know what she said to me? She said the only reason why I'm with you guys is because you feel sorry for me."

Kai also choked on his coffee and frowned. "When did she say that?"

"Just now," Hilary replied as she crossed her arms over her chest and leant back in her chair to stare moodily out the window, a pout on her lips. "Jeez, she can be such a bitch. How does Ray put up with her?"

"Didn't the others say anything?" Kai asked as his dislike toward Asia steadily grew into sheer hatred.

"They probably didn't hear a word," Hilary said after a moment of silence, a part of her wanting to be angry with them for not coming to her aid, but another part said that Asia wouldn't have said those things if any of the guys were within hearing range.

"They were too busy having a good time," she muttered. "I seriously don't like her."

"No," Kai muttered as he took a sip of his drink. "Neither do I…"

He and Ray need to have a serious heart to heart about Asia. She's been nothing but a pest since they arrived at this hotel. She's a bitch and a bit of a whore; pure and simple. There was no other way to put it.

After he heard what else Asia said to Hilary, Kai promised the annoyed female that he would talk to Ray about Asia. He might be the only one to pull her into gear. Kai feared that if he tried to have a talk with her, he'd end up murdering her with his blade. Dranzer won't like her blade to be covered in blood, but he'll make it up to his beloved bitbeast somehow.

The moment Kai stepped outside; he spied his dark haired teammate leaning up against the side of the hotel, his index finger and middle finger on each hand massaging his temples as he muttered under his breath.

"Ray," Kai said which earned him an annoyed grunt from the neko. "I want you to do something about Asia."

Ray seemed to bristle at the name and gave a feral hiss. "I can't drown her in the pool, Kai."

Kai blinked. "…That wasn't what I had intended to ask."

Ray snapped his head up when he realized what he said and felt foolish at his suddenly outburst of violence. He's usually so patient. "Oops, sorry."

Kai looked amused for a moment, the corner of his lips twitching ever so slightly as he tried to suppress a smile before he shook his head and his expression turned serious again. "I'll put this bluntly, Ray. Asia, she is a bitch, a rude and arrogant bitch."

Ray sighed and moved to rub his temples again. He had a feeling this conversation was going to come up eventually. "Kai…"

"I don't care if she insults me," Kai said, then paused as he recalled all of Asia's insults and rolled his eyes. "Well, tries to anyway," he muttered, less than impressed with Asia's witty remarks before he shook his head and gave Ray a serious look again. "But I won't stand for her insulting anyone else."

Ray looked concern and then a little annoyed. "Who else did she insult?"

Kai folded his arms over his chest in a way that presented to Ray that he was getting increasing annoyed. "She called Hilary an Old Hag and told her the only reason why she's on this team is because we feel sorry for her."

"What?" Ray's eyes widen in alarm and he pushed away from the wall. "But that-"

But Kai cut him up by lifting his hand to silence him. "She knows that isn't true. Don't worry."

Ray regarded Kai for a moment before he clutched at his head again and groaned when he realized he was getting a headache. "Urgh…" he muttered as he rubbed his forehead wearily. He then gave another cry of annoyance when a voice he had come to loathe rung out.

"Ray, there you are!" Asia said as she appeared from inside the hotel. She looked annoyed, even more so when she saw Kai was there as well. She turned to sneer at him before turning her full attention to Ray. "You said we could have a spa bath together after you finished putting sunscreen on my back."

Kai suddenly looked repulsed at learning that fact and he gave Ray a very blank stare. "You put sunscreen on her back?"

"Asia," Ray said, sounding stressed. "Can't you see I'm busy at the moment?"

"Ray!" Asia whined. "You promised!"

"I made no promises," Ray retorted as he patience wore thin.

"You would rather talk to Mr. Goth here than spent time with me?" Asia stated more so than asked. She gave Ray a horrified look when he didn't immediately answer. He was supposed to say that wasn't true and that he would rather spend time with her because she was so much cooler and stronger than Kai.

"You're… argh!"

Kai's eyebrow twitched suddenly. "Mr. Goth?" he muttered.

Asia spun around to face him, her long hair flowing down her back like silk. "Why do you wear black all the time? Are you an emo or something?"

"No," Kai said slowly as if he was talking to a slow child, and with someone like Asia, that sounds about right. "I wear black simply because it's a more durable material. Besides, I guess it's really good for covering all of my flaws."

Asia turned to him with a genuine look of surprise on her face before a look of defiance took over and she stuck her nose into the air. "What I said was true. Can't kill anyone for speaking the truth, now can you?"

Ray looked confused but before he could question either teen Kai suddenly threw his arm forward and grasped Asia by the hair, causing her to cry out in surprise.

"Too bad hiding your blatant personality flaws won't as easy," he hissed with so much venom that Ray felt a cold shudder race down his spine. Kai then pushed her away and he stalked off.

Asia stepped back in shock, her body shaking from fear as tears poured from her eyes. "He…" she stuttered. "He's such a bastard!" she cried as she buried her face in her hands and fled back into the hotel.

But Ray ignored her, instead watched Kai's retreating form with concern. "Kai…?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Alarming Attachment**

**Summary:** It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation, but for Ray it's anything but. Meeting a girl called Asia who annoys him and dealing with Kai who appears annoyed with him, what's a neko to do? And what is it that Kai is hiding?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Anime Beyblade or any character associated. I do own Arista "Asia" Rainstorm. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not on based one anyone else's character, again if any likeness, it's purely coincidental.

**Warning:** Usage of a female OC. She is not the hero of the story, and the fic will not be centered on her. Any fans of OC pairings should leave now. Do not ask me to turn this fic into a Ray/OC or any other canon character/OC as I cannot stand such pairings. I have no hesitation in bashing my own created characters.

Another warning; I have turned a male character into a female disguised behind male clothing. The character's identity will not be revealed until later on in the story.

**AN:** Once again, a wonderful thank you goes out to everyone who has reviewed and read this story. In this chapter, we begin to really see how obsessed Asia is towards Ray and Ray's growing hatred towards her. I hope you like this chapter and don't hesitate in giving me your comments and thoughts. Thank you once again.

* * *

Chapter Seven:

Darkness of night fell over the hotel a lot slower than Ray wanted. After Kai's confrontation with Asia outside where he almost physically lashed out at her, Ray had not seen any sign of him since. He bumped into Hilary soon afterwards and found her brooding in the dinning room, a mangled form of an almost unrecognizable plastic bottle sat in front of her.

"Where's your girlfriend?" Hilary asked with an angry tone in her voice as soon as she saw him, which caused Ray almost want to grab that plastic bottle and rip it to shreds with his teeth.

"She's not my girlfriend," Ray found himself hissing in his defense once again. Asia was not his girlfriend. Hell, she was not even his friend!

He had not seen Asia all afternoon either and Ray was a little appalled with himself about how happy he felt being free of her grasp. He even wished Kai would threaten her again!

Now, Ray had never been the type to hate someone outright or wished him or her ill fortune, but a certain Arista "Asia" Rainstorm was really, really, _really_ getting on his last, overly stressed nerve!

She insulted Kai constantly, ever since she first layed eyes on him, even mocking him right in front of Ray himself. Moreover, today she had a go at Hilary because of the swimsuit she wore. If that was not petty and spiteful than Ray does not what was! She constantly drags him away from his teammates so they could have 'alone' time together because that was so romantic! She gets jealous so easily and loses her temper as quick as she would burst into tears!

She was officially doing his head in!

Ray rolled over in bed, unable to sleep. His thought stayed constantly on his captain, the teen bedding in the room just next door to his. From what he knows, Kai had locked himself up in his room all afternoon, no doubt berating himself for losing his cool with Asia that afternoon. He always does that. When he loses his cool for anything, he would always take off for a couple of hours and brood over what he should have done instead of what he did.

Kai had always being his own harshest critic.

On the verge of finally falling asleep, the sound of a key turning in a lock just outside his door startled Ray back to consciousness. He sat up in bed and his narrowed feline eyes easily cut through the darkness as he watched his door opened slowly. He was slightly curious, if not slightly concerned, as to who would be trying to sneak into his room. Then his concern quickly disappeared when he spotted the familiar sillouette of a certain busty and curvy dual brown-haired woman.

"What are you doing in my room?" Ray asked with a tone tittering on the edge of being harsh and accusing.

Asia jumped at Ray's voice and dropped her master key she swiped off her father just for the sole purpose of sneaking into any room she wants. She turned around and flicked her long brown hair of her eyes, letting it tumble down her back as she adjusted the black and skimpy silk nightdress she wore that ended just below her butt.

"I had a nightmare," she whimpered as she walked across the room, sat on Ray's bed and slid up uncomfortably close to him. She then threw herself into his chest and began to cry. "I dreamt that Kai came into my room and raped me! It was horrible!"

Horrible for Kai, Ray suspected as the darkness of the room hid his look of disgust. Kai would rather rip out his own intestines than even touch Asia in anyway. Kai might be cold and a little blunt at times, but he sure as hell wasn't a rapist or an abusive jackass that many people liked to think he was.

"Can I sleep in your bed tonight?" She asked as moved to press herself further into Ray's chest as her silk dress slid up onto her hips to expose a pair of black lacy knickers for Ray to see. Surely, he wouldn't resist something as tempting and sexy as she was, could he?

Ray saw the girl's undergarment and his brain immediately went into overdrive. "Er…I'm sorry, you can't."

Asia reeled back in surprised as Ray's response jarred her out of her cuddly mood. She leaned back and blinked at him, aghast that he would say no. "Please?" she whispered as she pushed herself into his chest again.

Ray simply grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her back as he shook his head rapidly. Asia felt angry as she grabbed onto Ray's arms with her hands and glared at him. What the hell was wrong with him?! They are finally alone and he was playing hard to get! She picked out this silky nightdress because she was certain Ray would not have been able to resist her.

"Why not?" She asked as she gritted her teeth together.

"It wouldn't be proper," Ray replied as he pried Asia's fingers off of his arms. "A guy and a girl sleeping in the same bed?"

Asia blinked and then giggled to herself. Aw, Ray's just being a gentleman! He was so sweet!

"You can sleep on the floor," Asia offered, finding that option more than reasonable. After all, she practically owned his hotel, which meant she also owned this room. She was allowed to come in here whenever she wanted and take the bed. Besides, a guy must always cater to a girl's needs. She always came first, after all.

Ray felt his eyebrow twitched at the suggestion. Did she really expect him to agree because she said so? Does she have any idea how uncomfortable the floor was?!

"Or, I can walk you back to your room where you can sleep in your own bed and I can sleep in mine."

Asia looked horrified at the thought and threw herself into Ray's chest again; totally unaware that he dressed had slid up to reveal her underwear again. "I can't go back to my room!" she cried as she bashed her fist against his chest. "Please, can't I just sleep in here?"

"Look, I'm really tired," Ray said as he once against pushed her away from him, his patience all but gone. "Can't you just go back to your room to sleep?"

Asia buried her face into her hands and started to cry. "That's mean," she whimpered as she planted herself in the middle of Ray's bed and refused to move.

Ray felt himself on the verge of a total meltdown as the thought of grabbing Asia by her hair and tossing her out on her ass as he slammed the door in her face very appealing. However, he didn't want a scene or a fight in the middle of the night. No doubt, Asia would scream at him through the door and wake everyone else up. He was in no mood for the tired glares and muttered cursing from his teammates this late at night.

"Fine," he muttered as he threw back the blankets and slipped out of bed. "Take the bed. I'll sleep on the floor."

Asia suddenly sprung up and hugged him, brushing her lips temptingly against his ear. "You're so nice," she said with a giggle.

Ray sighed and rubbed his forehead, willing the brunette to let him go. "Yeah, yeah."

Asia wasted no time getting comfortable in Ray's bed as Ray settled himself down on the hard floor with only a pillow and a blanket to keep him company. He muttered darkly under his breath for a moment as he tried to find a position comfortable enough for him. The floor was a lot harder than he thought it would be. He sat up and turned his amber eyes towards his now ex-bed, and he glared hatefully at the sight of Asia sound asleep and taking up the entire bed. She was on her back with her dress hitched up to her stomach, once again revealing her underwear to the world around her.

Has she no shame?

Ray needed to get out of this room. If he doesn't he might do something he'll regret later. He just had a vision that he pressed a pillow against Asia's face. What the hell was she doing to him?

Silently, Ray climbed to his feet and made his way over to the door. He paused in his movements long enough to grab the key Asia dropped earlier and a second later, was out the door. Once out in the hallway, he leaned against his door and took a deep breath.

Now what? Now how was he going to get any sleep? He could probably crash with one of the guys, but Max would ask to many questions, the same with Kenny. As friendly as Tyson and Daichi was, they were both noisy sleepers and he wouldn't get an ounce of sleep with them.

That leaves Kai, the teen who wasn't exactly happy with him at the moment. Well, he could deal with an annoyed Kai easier than he could deal with an annoying Asia.

Kai's room it is.

Ray pushed himself away from his door and took the few steps to reach Kai's silently as he could. With the key he got from Asia, he unlocked the door and prayed that Kai didn't put the chain up. He then cursed in his native tongue when the door made a rattling noise. Kai did add the chain. Why didn't he do that to his?

"Ray?" Kai said in a surprised voice as he pushed the door shut again only to open it a moment later and peered at Ray with a sleepy expression. His hair was in disarray, but it only made his tired appearance more adorable, especially how he kept tugging at the collar of his shirt that kept slipping down to expose his shoulder.

"It's the middle of the night," Kai said with concern in his voice. "What's wrong?"

"Asia is in my room," Ray muttered bitterly.

Kai furrowed his brow in confusion and slight annoyance. "What's she doing there?"

"She had a nightmare and wanted to sleep with me," Ray replied bluntly, still sounding bitter. He then turned embarrassed when he noticed that Kai reeled back in shock, a light blush on his cheeks.

"What?" he spluttered.

"Lie in bed with me, I mean!" Ray was quick to explain as his hands flailed about in front of him.

Kai looked relieved for a moment before he shook his head in disproval. "Ray, you can't-"

Ray knew what Kai was going to say, but he didn't need to hear it at the moment. "Can I stay here for the night, please?" he asked as he cut him off.

Kai took a moment to stare at Ray, his eyes searching his. As he looked upon Ray's face, he realized just how much Asia's fondness for him was taking its toll and he felt slight satisfaction in knowing that Ray doesn't like Asia as much as she liked him.

"…Fine," he said as he stepped back and allowed Ray access into his room. He shut the door behind him and put the chain back in its place. "But you have to tell her that you're not interested in her that way, Ray."

"I know, I know," Ray muttered as he rubbed his forehead in a tired manner. "It's just…I feel sorry for her. She lost her mother."

Kai frowned, but not from sympathy. Sure, he felt sad that any child had lost a parent, but that was no excuse for her to act in such a way. "That's sad, yes, but she isn't the only one. My parents are dead, your parents are to and Tyson's mother is gone. But you don't see us being completely assholes about, do you? Well, not all of us anyway… She needs to get on with her life."

Ray turned around and gave Kai a blank look. "That's a little harsh, Kai."

"The truth often is," Kai muttered as he folded his arms over his chest. He had to live his life with that belief, as did Tyson, Daichi and Ray himself. Why should that be any different for Asia? Just because she's a girl doesn't mean she should have everything she wanted handed to her on a silver platter. She has to get on with life just like everyone else.

Moreover, her father, the poor man has been through much heartbreak himself. However, all Asia does is disrespect him endlessly. How much more can a man take?

"Come on, let's go to bed," Kai said. "I want to get some sleep tonight. We'll talk about this in greater detail in the morning, ok?"

"Sure Kai," Ray said as he slipped into bed next to Kai and settled his head on a pillow. He waited for Kai to do the same thing and turned to face him as Kai laid on his side as well. "And thanks for letting me stay," he whispered before he fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Alarming Attachment**

**Summary:** It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation, but for Ray it's anything but. Meeting a girl called Asia who annoys him and dealing with Kai who appears annoyed with him, what's a neko to do? And what is it that Kai is hiding?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Anime Beyblade or any character associated. I do own Arista "Asia" Rainstorm. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not on based one anyone else's character, again if any likeness, it's purely coincidental.

**Warning:** Usage of a female OC. She is not the hero of the story, and the fic will not be centered on her. Any fans of OC pairings should leave now. Do not ask me to turn this fic into a Ray/OC or any other canon character/OC as I cannot stand such pairings. I have no hesitation in bashing my own created characters.

Another warning; I have turned a male character into a female disguised behind male clothing. The character's identity will not be revealed until later on in the story.

**AN:** Once again, a sincere thanks to all those who have read, reviewed, faved and put this story on their alerts. In this chapter, Ray learns something else about Kai, and his own feelings towards him. Very little Asia in this chapter, but she's still annoying as ever. I hope you like the Ray/Kai moments in this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Eight:**

Ray awoke from his slumber with a start, his breathing abnormal. He frantically looked around the room and noted that it was still dark, no sign of the sun yet. He just had a dream where Asia snuck into his room and tried to cuddle up to him on his bed while wearing the bare minimal of clothing. What a ghastly nightmare.

The sound of rustling sheets caused Ray to snap his head abruptly to the side, his eyes wide with fright, fearing that Asia was indeed in bed with him. However, he soon relaxed when he saw the comforting figure of his stoic captain lying on his side of the bed, his hands curled up against his chest and sleeping peacefully.

Ray felt his breath catch in his throat as he gazed at his sleeping captain. He was sharing a bed with Kai and he felt an almost giddy feeling appear in his stomach. He wasn't sure why though. He shared a bed with Kai before, plenty of times as he was the only person Kai could stand for long periods of time.

However, this time it felt different.

Ray flopped down onto the bed with a relieved sigh but then his face screwing up moments later when he recalled the reasons he was in sharing a bed with Kai in the first place. His nightmare came true, well sort of. Asia snuck into his room in the middle of the night and tried to crawl into bed with him. Luckily, though he was able to convince her to take the bed herself while he took the floor. He then made a hasty retreat to the sanctuary of Kai's room.

Any self-respecting guy would have loved to have a girl wearing a slinky night dress sneak into his room in the middle of the night and want to sleep with him. But to Ray, the thought of sharing a bed with someone that was as annoying, rude and whiney as Asia turned him off completely; especially the thought of waking up the next morning lying next to her. It made him shudder with disgust just imagining it.

But waking up next to Kai was completely different. No matter where they were in the world, no matter how tough the day or how rough the trip was, Kai woke up with the perfect appearance each and every time. While Ray struggled endlessly with his hair and the want to fall into a deep sleep again, Kai simply got out of bed looking ready to start the day.

Kai always seemed to wake before him; however, there were rare times where Ray woke up first. The first time Ray woke before Kai, he stayed still in bed and watched through one eye as Kai awoke from his slumber. First, he peered around the room while cutely rubbing the sleep from his eyes with the heel of his hands. He then gave a small yawn and stretched his arms over his head, arching his body almost painfully until he heard a crack and relaxed again.

From then on Ray was fascinated by the thought of watching Kai get up. He would often try to set his body clock a few minutes before Kai's to watch him wake up. He wasn't sure why he was so fascinated. Was it because that for a few minutes Kai looked normal, looked free from the burdens in his life?

Rolling onto his side, Ray propped himself up on his elbow and rested his head on his hand as he looked at Kai's still form. He studied his face, noticing that had a quite delicate face, his nose sitting perfectly in the middle of his face, his soft pink lips parted ever so slightly an inch beneath it. The lines on his face were sharp, yet feminine as well. The skin looked soft and Ray had to bite his bottom lip to stop himself from lifting his hand to brush his fingers against Kai's cheek. Looking at the four triangles just made that urge even harder to resist.

The longer Ray stared at the Kai, the more he came to realize that he might be developing a crush on the stoic teen. That thought came apparent when Ray wondered what it would be like to press his lips against Kai's.

Kai suddenly murmured something in his sleep and rolled over to rest on his other side, presenting his back to Ray. Ray felt disappointed that he could no longer study Kai's face, but then he noticed that Kai's nightshirt had slipped up bit, revealing skin on his lower back…and a hint of the white bandages around his chest.

Ray frowned, realizing that Kai was still wearing the bandages, even in his sleep. And he recalled that Kai wore them when he was in the pool as well. Doesn't he ever take them off?

He chewed on his bottom lip again, the fingers on his free hand twitching slightly with curiosity. Just a quick little peek wouldn't hurt, would it? Not knowing what was bothering Kai was driving him insane!

His hand trembled slightly when he carefully grabbed the end of Kai's overly large shirt and lifted it up. He bit down on his tongue to stop a gasp that threatened to pass his lips. His grip on the shirt faltered, but he held on as he stared at Kai's back. Just as he saw yesterday morning, Kai had bandages that started just under his armpits and ended on the last rib of his ribcage. However, this time he wasn't staring at the bandages, but rather what seemed to be under it. He could see the start of a huge and jagged scar that started at Kai's right shoulder blade and ended a few inches under his rip cage on the left side of his body. Ray couldn't see the full extent of the scar, as it was mostly covered by the bandages, but he could see that the scar was fairly old and fairly long.

And whenever Kai received it, how long ago that was, Ray was pretty certain that it would have been unbearably painful. Kai must have been incredibly strong to have survived such an injury.

Far from repulsed, Ray studied the scar a little bit longer, lost in a state of awe. But the longer he looked at it, the more he realized that this scar wasn't the reason Kai was wearing the bandages. Old scars can sometimes be painful years later, but the way the bandages were situated around Kai's body proved to Ray that there was another reason for their purpose.

Though Ray was starting to feel that he was becoming to understand Kai a little bit better, he was still frustrated that there was so much to learn about Kai. He wished to know more, but refused to intrude into Kai's personal space anymore. He had already violated that space tonight, and he felt guilty about it. He just hoped Kai doesn't find out somehow.

He placed the shirt back to its original place and settled back down into bed. He snapped his eyes shut when he heard Kai shift again in his sleep. When he opened them again after the movement stopped, he found himself almost nose to nose with the dual haired teen. His breath hitched in his throat when Kai's eyes suddenly fluttered open to peer at him sleepily.

"Ray?" he murmured sleepily, his brow knotting a little, no doubt confused to see his teammate awake.

Ray swallowed thickly as his eyes trailed down to stare at Kai's lips. The urge to kiss them again returning with a vengeance. "Hmm?"

Kai stared at him for a few moments and Ray realized that Kai is hovering between consciousness and falling asleep again. "I have secrets, you know?" he said, suddenly.

"Yeah," Ray whispered in reply. "I know."

"Does it bother you?"

Ray paused for a moment, only subconsciously aware that he was slowly lifting his arms to wrap around Kai's body and pulled him closer against him. And the amazing thing was, Kai was letting him. In fact, he seemed to move a little closer himself.

"We all have secrets, Kai," Ray said as he placed his hands on the small of his back. "It's ok that you do as well. I'm curious about you and what makes you tick, but I don't want to pressure you into telling me anything."

Again, Kai stared at Ray for a few moments before giving him a small and tender smile. "Thanks, Ray," he whispered before his eyes drifted shut and he fell asleep in Ray's arms.

Ray also smiled as he tucked Kai's head under his chin and rested his cheek on his hair. He pulled Kai a little tighter against him, amazed at how well their bodies seemed to fit together perfectly. It was like they were made for each other.

Oh yeah, he had a crush on Kai all right.

Then he fell asleep, that content smile still on his lips.

Ray awoke a few hours later on his back, with a weight on his chest. The weight wasn't annoying though and he felt relaxed. In fact, that had to have been the best night's sleep he's had in ages. Suddenly, the weight on his chest moved and Ray really became conscious of his surroundings.

Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he gazed down at his chest and immediately saw a mass of dark gray and midnight blue hair. His eyes widened and he propped his head up a little. He soon realized that Kai was sleeping sprawled out on his chest, one of his legs between his. And Ray, for his part, had his arm around Kai's waist, the fingers on his hand actually toying with the band of his shorts.

Oh shit, if Kai woke up now, he would kill him! Although Ray wasn't ashamed to admit it to himself that it liked the closeness.

If only there was a way to wake up like this every morning.

Although feeling unbelievably relaxed and content in this position, Ray knew that he had to move, to save Kai the embarrassment of waking up in such an intimate way. So reluctantly, yet carefully, Ray slipped out from under Kai and sat on the edge of the bed. He turned around and watched Kai as he slept; taking a moment to marvel at how beautiful Kai looked lying there in the morning sun, his hair and clothes slightly messed up from the restless sleep.

Unable to help himself, Ray lifted a hand and carefully ran it through Kai's dual coloured hair, surprised to realize how soft it felt. Almost like silk and it was a lot longer than he had original thought. His fingers trailed from Kai's hair to touch his cheek, carefully caressing one of the blue triangles that adorn Kai's face with his fingertips. His skin was as soft as he had imagined as well.

Amazing…

Suddenly, Kai stirred and opened his eyes. He propped himself up onto his elbow and looked around slightly dazed.

Ray inwardly cooed at how cute Kai was. "Good morning, Kai," he greeted. "It's time to get up."

Kai turned his eyes to Ray and looked confused for a moment before realization appeared on his face and he nodded. He slipped out of bed and gathered some clothes before disappearing into the bathroom to get changed. Ray sat on the edge of the bed with his legs crossed and arms folded over his chest. He thought about getting dressed himself, but during his haste to flee his room last night, he didn't grab a set of clothing.

That was pretty stupid but fortunately he had an idea to fix that.

"Hey Kai?" Ray said as Kai stepped out of the bathroom, taking a moment to stare at his choice of clothing. He was wearing a pair of shorts again, this time black and a dark blue sleeveless hoodie that made his arms look sleek, yet strong. Truthfully, he had never seen Kai show off so much skin before, not that he was complaining. Not at all…

"Could you do me a favor?" He finally asked as mentally slapped himself for staring.

Kai raised an eyebrow at him and tilted his head to the side in question. "What?"

"Do you think you could see if Asia's still in my room?" Ray asked quickly, a pleading tone to his voice as he gave Kai a set of watering kitty cat eyes. He really, really doesn't want to see Asia right now.

Kai's face screwed up in annoyance before he sighed and nodded his head as he rolled his eyes towards the roof. "Alright, but how do you expect me to get in?"

"The master key, of course," Ray said as he pointed to the key he placed on coffee table last night. "Asia used that to get into my room in the first place."

Kai walked over to the table and took the key into his hand. He stared down at it for a moment before placing it in his pocket. He decided to hang onto this key, hiding it personally on his body so Asia doesn't pull something like this again.

"Fine," he said as he turned to walk out the door. But when he placed his hand on the handle, he hesitated and turned to give Ray an oddly annoyed look. "While I'm gone, I want you to think about what you're going to do about Asia. This can't go on, sneaking into your room in the middle of the night. That's ludicrous."

Ray sighed and bowed his head to hide his frustrations. "I know," he muttered darkly. Truth be known, he doesn't know what to do about Asia. He wants nothing to do with her, but how can he tell her without feeling like a jerk?

"I won't be long," Kai said before he opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. He paused to look at Ray sitting on the bed before he closed the door and headed toward Ray's old room just next to his.

As he drew closer, Kai placed his hand into his pocket to pull out the master key but as he about to do so, the door to Ray's room opened and the appearance of a very angry brunette greeted him as she storm out. Kai felt intense anger at the sight of the female, even more so when she had the audacity to frown at him, seemingly annoyed with the world. But most likely, annoyed that her plan to sleep in the same bed as Ray didn't work.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Kai asked in a very harsh tone and his eyes narrowed dangerously. His hands balled into fist by his sides and he appeared almost ready to slap her across the face.

"Where's Ray?" Asia asked in a demanding tone.

Kai felt himself bristle. "None of your fucking business."

Asia reeled back in shock at Kai's angry tone before she suddenly gave him a scathing glare. "You can't keep us separated forever," she told him as she stomped her foot on the ground in a display of childishness.

Kai returned the glare with one of his own. "I can try," he hissed dangerously.

"I know he loves me," Asia said in a haughtily as she stuck her chin out in defiance and pulled her shoulders back to make her bust bounce a little from the movement. "And there's nothing you can do about it!"

She then spun around on her heel and stalked away, her hands balled into tight fists by her sides. Kai gritted his teeth and spun around as well. He hated that girl so much…

Well, at least he could tell Ray that Asia was no longer in his room.


	9. Chapter 9

**Alarming Attachment**

**Summary:** It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation, but for Ray it's anything but. Meeting a girl called Asia who annoys him and dealing with Kai who appears annoyed with him, what's a neko to do? And what is it that Kai is hiding?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Anime Beyblade or any character associated. I do own Arista "Asia" Rainstorm. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not on based one anyone else's character, again if any likeness, it's purely coincidental.

**Warning:** Usage of a female OC. She is not the hero of the story, and the fic will not be centered on her. Any fans of OC pairings should leave now. Do not ask me to turn this fic into a Ray/OC or any other canon character/OC as I cannot stand such pairings. I have no hesitation in bashing my own created characters.

Another warning; I have turned a male character into a female disguised behind male clothing. The character's identity will not be revealed until later on in the story.

**AN:** Hello again, everyone. I have another chapter I hope you will like. In this chapter, Ray comes closer to finding Kai's secret and there's a fluffy moment between the two of them for all Ray/Kai fans to enjoy. Only a few more chapters left to go.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and placed this story on their alerts and fave lists. And a big thank you to those who think I'm worthy enough to be on their favorite Author and Author alert lists. I really do appreciate it.

Any comments or suggestions will be most welcomed. Please enjoy the latest chapter.

* * *

Chapter Nine:

All this waiting was killing him. Ray liked to perceive himself as this patient person, and most of the time he was; except when it came to waiting. Sitting on the edge of Kai's bed, his legs crossed and arms folded over his chest appeared as if he was trying to meditate but the way his body was twitching and fidgeting, told otherwise.

What was taking Kai so long? Maybe he got into a fight with Asia and was now trying to dispose of the body?

One could only hope…

Ray was a little surprised when Kai agreed to do a sweep of his room before he could venture in himself, but he was grateful none the less. Kai does a lot of nice things for people, but mostly on the quiet or he would presented himself in such a way that he was annoyed about doing it. Kai hated Asia more than anyone, and yet he agreed to check to see if the coast is clear for him. Ray made a mental note to thank Kai somehow, he wasn't sure how, but he promised to himself that he would.

Suddenly the door opened and Ray held his breath in anticipation, a part of him fearing that Asia might have somehow recovered the key and will now bounce into the room, all busty and perky like. If that ever happened, Ray won't hesitate jumping out the window, he doesn't care if he was three stories off the ground. He would prefer two broken legs than being in the same room as Asia again.

Oh, the two of them needed to have a serious talk later…

"She's gone," Kai announced as he stepped into the room. His face held an annoyed expression and Ray realized that he must have had a run in with Asia and made another mental note to make it up to him. After this vacation is over, Ray was probably going to indebt to Kai for the next ten years!

Kai popped his head out of the room again and did a quick sweep of the hallway, securing the area like some sort of a bodyguard. "The coast is clear. You can come out now."

Ray breathed a sigh of relief and jumped up from the bed, eager to get some proper clothes on and hide somewhere for the rest of the day. Maybe somewhere outside as Asia hated the ickiness of nature and the outdoors; which was one of the reasons he found Asia to be unattractive. While she was pretty, she wasn't attractive.

In fact, there are a lot of reasons Ray didn't find Asia remotely attractive. Other than her blatant attitude problem towards his teammates and her own father, she was as moody as they come. She was emotionally unstable, bursting into tears and throwing a tantrum at the slightest provocation. She was demanding, not just bossy. She held herself in a higher regard than anyone else around her and all she seemed to think about was herself.

Rude, self-centered, possessive and spiteful. There were so many things he could say about her, none of which were very nice.

Moreover, while she had a great body, she tried too hard to be sexy, and that made her unsexy in Ray's eyes. Wearing a bikini top that was smaller than her actual breasts didn't make her look sexy. In truth, and though it was harsh, she looked like a slut. Pure and simple.

Now that Ray thought about it, there was very little about Asia to actually like. Kai was right, just because she lost her mother, doesn't mean she could strut around like she was the center of the universe.

They were complete opposites and whoever said opposites attract should be shot and buried under a mound of cow dung.

"Thank you, Kai," Ray said, as he sounded truly grateful. "I promise that I'll never be nice to another girl for as long as I live!" he announced as he moved out of Kai's room and into his own. He didn't notice the wince on Kai's face when he said those words or the fact that he was now chewing on his bottom lip.

While he waited for Ray to get dressed, Kai leaned against the wall just next to the door of Ray's hotel room, his hands folded behind his back as he bowed his head forward a little. His dark gray bangs covered his eyes and that gave him a deep, thoughtful look.

"…You always seem to have trouble with women, don't you?" Kai suddenly commented.

Ray was just about to pull a shirt over his head when paused in his movements, and blinked his eyes slowly at the comment. "What do you mean?"

Kai shifted uncomfortable from his position. He appeared reluctant to carry on, but also looked as if he wanted to know a few things. "Well, there's Mariah for starters. She's obliviously in love with you," he said as he peered through his hair.

Ray remained silent and still for a moment before he muttered; "Yeah…" under his breath and pulled his shirt on over his head.

"Ray?" Kai said as his eyes shimmered with a sense of pain that lasted only a split second before darkening to an unreadable sheen.

"She's…she's like a sister to me," Ray said as he stepped through the threshold of his door way and out into the hallway, a few steps from Kai. He was wearing his usual outfit of black Chinese pants and white Chinese top with red trimming. "I love her, but not romantic love, you know?"

Kai took a moment to regard Ray in silence, studying his profile with his eyes. Ray looked thoughtful and complacent, with a hint of guilt that although he knew Mariah's love for him, he could not return it.

He felt relived for a moment. "…And then there's Salima," Kai said.

"Salima?" Ray repeated as he glanced at Kai and tilted his head to the side with a slight sense of confusion.

"I think she might have had a crush on you," Kai pointed out as he pushed away from the wall and began to move down the hallway with Ray right behind him. "I know you did at one stage, right?"

"It wasn't a crush," Ray said as he felt the need to make a few things clear with Kai. He isn't sure why, but he felt the need to prove to Kai that although he liked the girls Kai has mentioned so far, he had no romantic feelings toward any of them. It was almost like he was trying to convince Kai that he was the only important person in his life…if that made any sense.

Ray knew he had a crush on Kai, but what did Kai feel for him?

Kai suddenly stopped walking but kept his back to Ray, his profile a little tense. "Hn?"

"I admired her," Ray said as he stopped as well, being completely honest with himself and with Kai as well. "We thought alike. We didn't want to blade to win. She wasn't obsessed at winning at all costs. She was like me."

"I see," Kai muttered and Ray could have sworn Kai breathed a sigh of relief. Where was he heading with all of this?

"Why bring this up all of a sudden Kai?" Ray asked, a part of him hopeful that Kai would turn around and confess that he had feelings for him, even though he knew Kai wouldn't just blurt out what he was thinking or feeling like that.

"It's nothing," Kai said as he suddenly turned his face to the side and hid his expression behind he hair yet again. He began walking again, heading to the stairway but paused when he reached the top step.

"Sorry," he murmured as he kept his face hidden. "I just…what I'm trying to say is that girls are drawn to you because you can be quite charming at times."

Ray blinked silently for a moment before a smile broke out of his lips. Kai just sorta gave him a compliment. "I am?"

"You don't even realize you're doing it mostly," Kai was quick to point out as if he just realized he gave Ray a compliment as well. "Just…just be more careful, ok? Don't want anyone to take advantage of you or to take your charms the wrong way."

"Kai…" Ray murmured as he continued to stare at Kai's back. He felt pleased that Kai was worried about him. Heck, Ray could have sworn that Kai sounded jealous when he was talking about the girls.

Then a part of him felt concerned. What did he mean take his charms the wrong way? Was he talking about Asia and how she seemed possessive to him? Did she think they were…?

Oh, they needed to have a good, long chat sometime in the future.

Ray decided that he had enough of this conversation and tried to think of something else to say. Then he noticed the length of Kai's hair and realized that it reached his shoulder blades. He saw his hair before, but he never noticed it, if that made any sense. He remembered running his fingers through the silky strands this morning and was almost overcome with the urge to do it again.

"Are you trying to grow your hair out, Kai?"

Kai snapped his head up and gazed at Ray with a sense of surprise on his face. "Huh?"

" I've just realized that your hair reaches your shoulder blades now," Ray said with a smile on his lips. "It was even longer when you were pushed into the pool yesterday."

"Yeah, I guess I am…" Kai muttered as he lifted a hand to touch a strand of dark gray hair.

Ray moved to stand next to Kai and boldly lifted his own hand to curl that same stand of hair behind Kai's ear, pleased with himself when a light blush appeared on Kai's cheeks. "It suits you," he said softly.

Kai blinked slowly as he uncharacteristically took a step back and appeared submissive, almost a little suspicious and uneasy. "Really?"

"Yeah," Ray said and gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Well, you looked good with short hair as well."

The blush on Kai's cheeks darkened a little more as he became aware that Ray's fingers lingered near his ear after they carefully pushed aside a strand of hair. "I was kinda thinking about cutting it…Which do you think suits me better?"

Ray wasn't sure why he was feeling so bold, maybe it was Kai's intoxicating presence or maybe it was his own need to be closer to Kai. He wasn't sure, and at this point in time, he didn't care very much at all. "I think you should leave it the way it is."

" …Ok."

Suddenly, a door flew open and a red blur was seen for a split second before it flew passed them on the stairs. Ray only had a moment to realize that the blur was Daichi no doubt headed towards the breakfast bar before he felt something hit him on the back of his knees and caused him to crumble forward. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around the nearest thing he could find, and that so happened to be Kai. He wrapped his arms around his waist and his cheek rested against his unguarded chest as the two of them stumbled down a couple of steps, but managed to stay upright.

Ray breathed a sigh of relief, but then a thoughtful expression appeared on his face. He was leaning on Kai's chest and it felt…soft. And a little lumpy. And springy. And…not quite male like…

What…?

His eyebrows shot to his hairline as Ray lifted his head and stared into Kai's face, and realized that Kai was staring down at him with a sense of shame, guilt and devastation. Ray opened his mouth to ask Kai once again what he was hiding under the bandages but he just couldn't find the words. Something was wrong. A small voice was telling him that Kai wasn't injured, and that he was a…

"Ray?" he muttered before he suddenly placed his hands on Ray's shoulders and abruptly pushed him back. However, he didn't realize that Ray was close to the edge of the step he was on and caused him to fall back. Ray kept his arms around Kai's waist and ultimately, pulled Kai down the rest of the stairs with him.

They landed at the bottom of the stairs in a heap, Ray on his back with Kai sprawled out over the top of him. Ray grunted and saw stars for a moment, his vision blank for a few minutes when the wind was knocked out of him.

What the hell just happened?

Kai immediately sat up, found himself on Ray's hips, and struggled to regain his balance. His hand rested against Ray's bare chest as his shirt was ripped open during the fall and he used his other hand to protect his own. "I'm sorry, are you alright?" he asks as he shivered slightly as Ray's skin was warm and taut under his palm.

"Kai…"

Suddenly Ray's fingers wrapped around the back of Kai's neck, holding him securely in his lap and he moved to sit up. He moved so they were nearly chest to chest and stared up at Kai, and into his eyes that were wide in surprise. God…he looked beautiful…

"Ray?" Kai watched him with wide eyes and the blush reappeared on his cheeks in record time. Slowly, he realized that Ray was pulling him towards him, and he was letting him. "What are you…?"

He didn't realize how close they were until Ray pressed his lips against his in an incredibly tender kiss. He stiffened at first, but when Ray began to move his lips slowly over his, he found his body relaxing against his will. He placed his hands on Ray's shoulders in a feeble attempt to push him away; instead, he sunk against him as Ray kept one hand on his neck as the other moved to rest of the small of his back.

Ray was in heaven. Kai's lips were as soft and tantalizing as he had imagined, even more so. He ran his tongue over Kai's lips and then slipped inside when he opened his mouth on a surprised gasp. The inside of Kai's mouth was even better and he eagerly began to explore every little nook and cranny. A shiver raced down his spine when Kai timidly began to move his tongue against his.

He moved his arms and held Kai closer as the two of them continued to kiss rather passionately but then Kai broke that kiss by curling his fingers on his shoulders and abruptly pushed himself back. He reeled back, breathing deeply whether from the force of the kiss or from shock at what he was doing as he suddenly ripped himself out of Ray's arms and scrambled to his feet.

"Ray," he muttered as he shook his head and folded his arms over his chest, slowly backing away. "We can't…You don't…"

"Kai?" Ray said with a hint of guilt. "Wait, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to push you like that."

But Kai continued to back away. "You don't understand," he murmured. "I'm not a…"

"Ray!"

Suddenly, the sound of a very feminine voice interrupted him and before Ray had a chance to even climb to his feet and to grab a hold of his crush, Kai bolted passed him and out of sight. But Ray managed to catch a glimpse of his eyes, eyes that appeared to be shimmering with unshed tears.

"Kai…" he murmured. Whatever it is that Kai was hiding, he didn't care. He just…he just wanted to be with him, that was all.


	10. Chapter 10

**Alarming Attachment**

**Summary:** It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation, but for Ray it's anything but. Meeting a girl called Asia who annoys him and dealing with Kai who appears annoyed with him, what's a neko to do? And what is it that Kai is hiding?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Anime Beyblade or any character associated. I do own Arista "Asia" Rainstorm. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not on based one anyone else's character, again if any likeness, it's purely coincidental.

**Warning:** Usage of a female OC. She is not the hero of the story, and the fic will not be centered on her. Any fans of OC pairings should leave now. Do not ask me to turn this fic into a Ray/OC or any other canon character/OC as I cannot stand such pairings. I have no hesitation in bashing my own created characters.

Another warning; I have turned a male character into a female disguised behind male clothing. The character's identity will not be revealed until later on in the story.

**AN:** Hello again. Well, here's the chapter you've been waiting for; Ray confronts Asia about her attitude. And he also realizes that there might be something feminine about Kai. I didn't have him immediately think that Kai was a girl, simply because if one of my guy friends started acting a bit weird, I wouldn't automatically think _he_ was a girl.

Thanks to all those who have read, reviewed, faved and put this story on their alerts. And a big thank you to everyone who put me on their favorite author and author alert lists. I appreciate it. Any comments or suggestions are most welcomed.

* * *

Chapter Ten:

One minute Ray was experiencing something he only dreamt about; kissing Kai who was kissing back! Having the stoic teen in his lap as he shyly kissed him back was pure bliss. Kai tasted like nothing he ever experienced before, he had a sharp, exotic taste to him. It was intoxicating, to say the least. But then…

"Ray!"

That voice…that voice alone was enough to put the fear in Ray. That same nauseatingly high-pitched female voice haunted him in his dreams, no, nightmares.

"Asia," Ray snarled under his breath as he sprung to his feet and bolted out of view, taking the same path Kai did. He was in no mood to deal with that annoying female at the moment. He had other more important things to think about; Kai, for starters. He came so close to telling him something, something very important.

'You don't understand, I'm not a…'

But then Asia interrupted. Gwad, he was so angry right now. Not at Kai, never at him…or was it, her?

His chest…there was no way that was a guy's chest. For starters, it wasn't flat, it was soft and bumpy, not hard and flat like his was. But…there was no way Kai could really be a girl, could there? Ray had shared a room with him for a couple of years! Surely, he would have noticed something about Kai being a girl…

But, then again, Kai was very private during those few years…And he never got dressed in front of him…or went swimming…or joined them at the bathhouse they would treat themselves to every now and again.

Holy…crap…

Could that have been what Kai was trying to tell him? That he wasn't a guy?

"Calm down, Ray," Ray chided to himself as his mind began to involuntarily think back at possible signs he missed. "Don't jump to conclusions just yet."

Even though he knew he should have felt somewhat bewildered, betrayed and angry that Kai kept something so important hidden from him, Ray found that he just couldn't bring himself to be angry. Kai looked torn, guilty and devastated. He looked fragile and scared, even. It almost broke his heart.

Ray was bewildered, yes, who wouldn't be? But he wasn't angry. Even if Kai was a girl, it didn't matter to him. Kai is still Kai, his captain, his friend…his crush. There most certainly must be a good reason for Kai to have been dressing as a guy for all those years, most likely a reason that stemmed from the Abbey and his tyrant grandfather.

"I need to find Kai," Ray said firmly to himself as his mind wandered back to the kiss they shared moments before.

It wasn't a kiss for the sake of kissing, it was important to Ray. Sure, he acted on impulse, how could he not? Kai looked adorably frazzled and surprised sitting on his lap; he couldn't help leaning forward to kiss him. He liked Kai, as in a romantic sense. He came to accept that he had a crush on Kai, he was attracted to him not just because of his looks, even though he was quite beautiful. There was something that drew him to Kai, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. There was just something about him.

Maybe it was his cold and aloof attitude that drew him in with the need to get to know him better. Or maybe it was the first time he witnessed one of Kai's fragile and weak moments, a moment where he was overcome with the urge to protect him. Maybe it was just instinct, or maybe it was fate.

But to Ray, it didn't matter. All that mattered was that he had feelings that went beyond friendship with Kai. And now it was time to find him so they could have a honest heart to heart. He needed to know the truth once and for all. And he wanted to show Kai that that kiss they shared was sincere, that he would like to be more than friends with him…her…

"Ray!"

"I'm not in the mood, Asia," Ray grounded out through his teeth as the vision of a dual haired brunette appeared and stomped her way over to him. She was wearing a short white mini skirt that had blue stripes up the sides, and a light blue halter neck corset with white ribbon tied into a bow at the front. The corset enhanced her bust, making her breasts jiggle and bounce whenever she took a step.

But Ray didn't take in her sexy appearance and tried to ignore her as he continued searching for Kai.

Asia had a face like a thundercloud, dark and menacing. She stalked her way over to him, her hands curled into fists by her sides as she planted herself in front of him, blocking his path. She then planted her fists on her lips and glared at Ray, her jaw hard and square.

"I can't believe you, Ray!" She suddenly yelled at him and stomped her foot on the ground like a child throwing a temper tantrum. "You left me alone this morning! That was so rude!"

"Asia…" Ray said tersely with his feline eyes narrowed in annoyance. No, he most certainly was not in the mood for a confrontation with her.

"Gwad!" she said, ignoring him to fold her arms under her chest, enhancing her bust. She turned her face away and stuck her nose into the air. "You're such a jerk!"

Ray bristled at the jerk comment and pressed his lips into a thin line as he drew in a sharp breath through his nose. "Asia…" he said again, quickly loosing his already deathly thin patience.

"I thought you were different," Asia continued, her voice getting higher and higher, and more and more annoying. "But you're just like Kai, a cold heartless bastard whose head is so far-"

"Shut the hell up, God dammit!" he snarled at her. Ray could take a lot of things, but when Asia crossed the line and insulted Kai, now that was the last straw. No one insulted his Kai while he was around and gets away with it. Especially not some bratty little bitch who thought herself higher than everyone else!

Asia physically jumped back in shock and stared at Ray with wide eyes. "What?" she muttered, surprised when she saw the utter hatred on Ray's face. His face was creased with dark lines and his usually bright amber eyes had turn into thin slits that could only be described as a pair of feral cat eyes, a cat that was protecting its territory.

"I think we need to make a few things clear here, Asia," Ray said sharply as he resisted the urge to physically grab Asia by the shoulder and shake some sense into her. "Do you know what I think is rude?" he asked, suddenly.

Asia took a step back, tears prickling at her eyes but she held them back by swallowing thickly. She had never seen someone so mad before, but why was Ray mad at her in the first place? She hadn't done anything wrong; he was the one who did!

"You insulting Kai enough to make him physically lash out was rude," Ray continued, his fisted hands shook by his sides as he tried to restrain himself. "Not only him, but Hilary as well. Rude is when someone breaks into your room in the middle of the night and takes your bed, forcing you to sleep on the hard floor. I'm not the one being rude here, Asia, it's you!"

Once again, Asia reeled back in shock. "What?" she said, with a surprised look on her face. But that soon dissipated and was replaced with indignity and anger as she gritted her teeth together and glared back at Ray. "I'm not rude!" she screamed at him as she once again stomped her foot. "I'm never rude. I might be a bit sassy sometimes, but that's what adds to my charms!"

Charms? Ray would have laughed outright if he wasn't so pissed off at the moment. Did she really believe that crap? Did she really believe that she was sassy? No, Hilary was sassy and feisty. She was assertive without being abusive and rude. That was what being sassy is about. No, Asia wasn't sassy; she was a bitch.

And Kai knew that the moment he laid eyes on her.

Ray felt his heart constrict at the thought of the slightly taller teen. Kai knew from the very beginning what type of person Asia was and had tried to warn him. But Ray was too busy worrying about what Kai was hiding to pay attention.

And now he regretted not listening. Oh, how he regretted it.

"No, Asia," Ray hissed. "Being sassy to the point of bitchiness isn't attractive at all. In fact, I find it repulsive."

Asia blinked back tears of anger that threaten to escape her dark raven eyes. "Maybe if you weren't such a jerk-!"

"A jerk?" Ray interrupted, a look of utter disbelief on his face as he took a moment to regard Asia in a stunned silence. She though he was a jerk? That little…

"What is your problem?" Ray asked, eyeing her critically as a small voice in his head wondered if he was dealing with someone who was a few cards short of a full deck. "I have been nothing but nice to you since I've been here!"

"What about me?!" Asia screamed at him as she suddenly lifted her hand and shoved Ray on the shoulder, pushing him back a couple of steps. "I have been the perfect host to you, and your teammates!" she defended herself. "I gave you a tour; I showed you to your room, I accompanied you to our facilities, what else could you possibly want?"

The perfect host? If by perfect she meant interfering, annoying, demanding and intrusive, then yeah, she was the _perfect_ host.

"What more could I want?" Ray repeated as he took a step forward, moving to tower over the young female. "Maybe the chance to actually enjoy time with my teammates! That is the sole purpose of this trip, to relax and to enjoy ourselves as a team without the worry of a competition hanging overhead."

Asia frowned at him and poked him in the chest with her finger as she planted her other hand on her hip. "So you would rather spend time with your boring teammates than with me?" she asked with a childish pout on her lips.

"Yes!"

"What?!" Asia yelled at him, horrified that he just admitted that he never wanted to spend time with her. That ungrateful bastard! After every thing she had done for him! She gave him attention, she gave him companionship, and she gave him her undying affection! How dare he?!

"Why?!" She screamed at him again. "I'm fun, I'm bright, I'm sexy and I'm feisty! And here I thought you would like to spend time with a girl that doesn't like you just because you're a blader."

Asia was devastated. She knew Ray was a little rough around the edges the moment she saw him, but she was trying to fix that. She thought she had tamed him, changed him into a respectful young man. But now…

"I have no romantic interest in you what-so-ever!" Ray yelled, not caring if anyone overheard him. All he wanted to do was find Kai and have a talk to him, not waste his time explaining to Asia why he didn't like her, or her attempts of seduction.

"What?" Asia reeled back from the outburst. She stared unblinkingly at Ray for a moment before a devastated look appeared on her face as she lunged forward and grabbed Ray's shirt with her hands. "Why?" she asked, sounding on the verge of crying.

"You're not my type, ok?" Ray said as he grabbed Asia's wrists and took a step back, putting some distance between them. "Look, Asia, I'm flattered and all, but I'm not interested in a relationship with you, ok?"

"But…" Asia shook her head frantically as tears began to flow from her eyes. This couldn't be happening. There was no way Ray was going to break up with her without a fight. "We're meant to be together!"

This time, Ray was the one who reeled his head back in surprise. "What?"

Asia quickly detached her wrists from Ray's grasp and flung her arms around his neck to press their bodies together. "We're the perfect couple, can't you see that?"

Ray was shocked at Asia's audacity at first, but he quickly recovered and pushed her away from him. "No, I can't," he said as he shook his head at her, trying to ignore the tears that are now pouring down her cheeks. "Just stop, Asia. Stop pursuing me. I don't like you in that way, so save your attention for someone else, ok? Stop wasting your time on me."

"But…" Asia muttered, looking pathetically miserable. A sudden flash of anger appeared on her face and she suddenly shoved Ray back harshly. She took a moment to glare heatedly at him before she buried her face into her hands and started sobbing hysterically. "I hate you!" she screamed into her hands as her shoulders shook harshly. "You're so mean to me! You're just like all men, you use me when it's convenient to you!"

Despite the way Asia annoyed him enough to want to physically lash out, Ray felt bad that he made her cry. He doesn't like it when a girl cries, no matter how irritable she was to him. "I've never…" he started, but then sighed, knowing that no matter what he said, Asia will take it the wrong way and scream at him again. He doesn't want to deal with this anymore. He decided to end this discussion here and now.

"Yeah, whatever," he muttered as he scratched the back of his head and looked uncomfortable. "Look, I'm sorry that I can't return you feelings. I hope that we'll be able to part on positive terms, ok?" he said good naturedly.

But Asia continued to sob before him and he does the only thing he could think of, he gave her a quick, awkward hug. He felt Asia stiffen at contact and he quickly pulled away. He doesn't want to give the young woman the wrong idea.

"I need to find Kai now," he muttered before sidestepping the brunette and continued in his previous path.

"Kai?" Asia muttered as she lifted her teary face from her hands. She stared at Ray's retreating form for a moment before a sudden realization dawned on her. Ray really wasn't breaking up with her, Kai was making him do it! That bastard!

"Ray really does love me," Asia muttered as she boldly rubbed the tears stains from her cheeks and nodded her head with determination. "It's Kai who's trying to convince him otherwise! That asshole, just because he has feelings for me as well, doesn't mean I like him in that way! I'll teach him for interfering!"

She then raced off in the opposite direction Ray disappeared in as she saw Kai hanging out near the wine cellars before she confronted Ray. She can get to him before Ray does.

No one should ever get in the way of true love!


	11. Chapter 11

**Alarming Attachment**

**Summary:** It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation, but for Ray it's anything but. Meeting a girl called Asia who annoys him and dealing with Kai who appears annoyed with him, what's a neko to do? And what is it that Kai is hiding?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Anime Beyblade or any character associated. I do own Arista "Asia" Rainstorm. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not on based one anyone else's character, again if any likeness, it's purely coincidental.

**Warning:** Usage of a female OC. She is not the hero of the story, and the fic will not be centered on her. Any fans of OC pairings should leave now. Do not ask me to turn this fic into a Ray/OC or any other canon character/OC as I cannot stand such pairings. I have no hesitation in bashing my own created characters. **And Female Kai.** And I should probably warn you that there is a bit of swearing in this chapter.

**AN: **I can now safely say that Kai is a girl in this story, though that is no surprise to my readers, now is it? In this chapter, Kai and Asia finally confront each other. How will it end? You'll just have to read it and see. I hope it's unexpected to say the least.

**My sincerest 'Thank you' to everyone who reviewed! **

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Chapter Eleven:

So close. He had been so close to telling Ray the truth.

"You don't understand, I'm not a…" Kai tried to say, but was interrupted once again by that annoying girl, by that girl who had been nothing but a pain in the ass since day one. A split second later, Kai could do nothing but run. Run as fast as possible. The destination didn't matter. He just had to get away.

_I'm not a…guy._

Kai wanted so badly to tell Ray the truth. She wanted him to know about her true gender and about the reasons why she was hiding in the first place. She wanted to tell him…but just couldn't find the words.

How…? How do you tell someone, someone who had gotten through the icy walls of your heart with his gentle patience and friendly personality that you had been lying to him the entire time? How do you tell someone the truth after you shared a passionate kiss with him, with a guy while dressed as a guy?

Kai angrily wiped the tears of frustration from her cheeks as she slowed her frantic run to a jog, not knowing where to go or what to do from here. Slowly, she came to a stop at one of those old fashion wine cellars that were underground in deep and dark stonework rooms. A door to one of the cellars was left open, but Kai paid it no attention.

Kai rested her hands on the wall near the doorway and pressed her forehead against the cool stonework, breathing harshly as she tried to take deep breathes through her panting. Her body shook with tiny tremors, drained from the run, and the warring emotions in her soul. Removing a hand from the wall, Kai pressed it to her chest, her fingers tugging at the tight bandages as she tried to breathe normally. The bandages seemed to be constricting around her chest, making it hard to get her breath back.

"Calm down and breath, dammit," Kai ordered herself harshly as she hit the wall with her fist and leaned heavily against it, tears of frustration once again appeared in the corners of her eyes.

After a few minutes, Kai managed to calm herself down by taking slow and deep breathes as she tugged at the bandages, loosening them enough to make breathing a bit easier for her. Finally, she lifted her head up and turned around, only to slump backwards against the wall. She resisted the urge to sink to the soil beneath her and tilted her head back, staring up at the clear blue sky above.

Her chest hurt. Her heart was thumbing painfully in her ribcage. And she found it hard to swallow. She never felt anything like this before. Everything seemed to hurt. And the hurt increased when she let her mind drift to the memory of the kiss.

Kai flushed at the memory, and was mildly confused to realize that her lips seemed to tingle as if she could still feel Ray's lips against hers. The kiss was totally unexpected, but what bewildered Kai the most was how much she enjoyed it. It was probably the most pleasurable thing she ever experienced and she was startled to realize that she wanted to experience it again.

Ray…

Just who did he think he is? He came into Kai's life, all friendly and charming, and somehow managed to wriggle his way into Kai's heart, successfully getting under her skin and staying there. He became her friend, a friend she never had. He was always there for her, during the darkest times with his gentle words of understanding and subtle comfort. She never used to care about what other people thought of her, but since meeting Ray, she started to care what _he_ thought of her.

She…she just cannot comprehend these feelings, these emotions Ray has evoked within her. She found herself caring for the dark-haired neko more than she probably should. She always made sure to share a room with him, and only him, if they had to share lodgings. He was always the first person she saw in the mornings and the last person at night. And she wouldn't change that for the world.

She rarely got into fights with him, and when they did, it hurt her chest like hell. But Ray was always the first one to apologize, even if the fights were clearly her fault.

Kai liked Ray…

She liked him a lot. She didn't realize how much until she came here on vacation and Asia appeared, forcing Ray to spend time with her. She was startled to realize that she didn't like that, that she wanted Ray to spend time with her instead.

At one point in time she even wished that she was bold enough to grab Ray's arm and drag him away from the others to spend time with her…alone.

"What did that kiss mean?" Kai asked herself aloud as she gingerly touched her lips, and a dark blush appeared on her cheeks.

She enjoyed that kiss…a lot. And Ray seemed to have enjoyed it as much as she did.

Do these emotions mean she has a crush on Ray?

"Maybe I should go talk to Hilary," Kai mumbled to herself as she pushed away from the wall behind her, her hand on her forehead as she swallowed thickly.

Hilary was the only female Kai grew to trust, the only one she felt deserved her trust. She didn't know the other girls of Beyblade well enough to comment on them, but she has known Hilary for a couple of years now. Hilary could be a little overwhelming at times, and bossy, but she meant well. She gained Kai's trust when she proved to her that she was genuinely concerned for their teammates' well-being.

Kai just hoped that her fellow female, with her dislike toward Asia a mirror image to her own, could help her in some way. Kai wasn't used to asking for help, especially from another girl, but she had no other option. She had to tell her the truth about her gender and pray to whoever was listening that she would understand. At least, somewhat anyway.

Coming from a very male dominate environment and excelling in a male dominated sport, Kai didn't know the first thing about being feminine, or the raging hormones and emotions that came with the title. All she knew was that she never felt this torn before. Or this nervous.

Running her fingers through her hair, Kai drew in a deep breath as she mentally prepared herself for what was to come. But as she glanced up her chosen path, the sight of a disgruntled brunette stomping her way over to her greeted her, much to her impatience and annoyance. Asia had her fists balled tightly into fist by her side and he face was screwed up into this angry and frustrated expression. Kai could almost hear her teeth grinding together in anger.

Anger that Kai had to bite the inside of her mouth to stop herself from mimicking. She could have done without seeing Asia so soon.

"Kai!" Asia yelled even though Kai was only a few feet away from her.

"Oh, what the fuck do you want?" Kai spat out at her as she folded her arms tightly over her chest and glared heatedly at her.

"You stupid asshole!" Asia said as she got right into her face. She planted her fisted hands on her hips and stomped her foot on the ground once, picking up dust as she did so.

The insult startled Kai for a moment, but she rolled her eyes nonetheless. "Charming as always," she muttered.

"What do you think you are doing?" Asia hissed at her. "I can't believe you would be so selfish and stupid."

Kai raised her eyebrow at the irony of Asia's words, but chose not to comment on them. Besides, it would probably go in one ear and out the other. "I'm not in the mood for any of your shit, girl," she hissed back with venom and moved to push her aside. "Piss off."

"I know you have a crush on me," Asia said suddenly, grabbing Kai's arm in her hand, holding onto it with an iron like grip.

With her eyes narrowed dangerously at the audacity Asia has to touch her, Kai moved to rip her arm from the girl's grip, but faltered as her words registered in her head.

Did she just accuse Kai of having a crush on her? Where the hell would she get a ludicrous idea like that? Ever since they met, they've been trading insult after insult. Was she so self-centered, so egotistical that she believed that everyone would fall for her at first sight?

She…she was insane!

Kai almost gagged violently and gave her a look of utter disgust. "Wait, what?"

Asia, however, continued her speech, oblivious to the utter disbelief on Kai's face. "But you just have to realize that Ray loves me and I love him."

A state of shock overtakes Kai and she stared at the girl like she had grown another head. "I don't like you at all," she said after a few minutes of silence on her behalf. Asia, on the other hand, kept talking.

"So stop being so jealous," she ordered with a huff as she let go of Kai's arm and folded her arm under her bust, giving Kai an annoyed look. "I don't like you in that way."

"Do you even listen to yourself?" Kai finally snapped out of her shock to glare with the utmost hatred with the girl before her. "Do you have any idea of the shit you're saying? I _**don't**_ like you. I _**loathe**_ you. You're rude, self-centered and disrespectful to everyone around you, especially towards your father."

Asia physically reeled back in surprise at the venom in Kai's voice and words. Her mouth dropped open and she gapped at her before she abruptly snapped her mouth shut, pressing her lips into a thin line. She swallowed thickly as tears began to pool in her eyes.

Kai expected her to burst into tears, but what she got was a glare and a quick, sharp slap to the face. She never saw it coming and it momentarily pushed her back in surprise. She gingerly touched her cheek, wincing when it stung.

That bitch just slapped her…

Kai physically bristled at her audacity.

"You have no idea of what my childhood was like!" Asia screamed at her, her face dark as tears flowed from her eyes.

"And I don't care!" Kai hissed back, her eyes narrowed into dangerously slits, her top lip drawn back in a snarl. "You're a bitch, and nothing more. You don't deserve someone like Ray. Hell, you don't deserve to have someone as patient and loving as your father."

Once again, Asia physically reeled back at the words. "How dare you!" she yelled and moved to slap Kai again, but this time she stepped back, but still wasn't quick enough. Asia's fingers grabbed her shirt, her long sharp nails ripping the fabric easily.

Kai's black shirt slipped open, revealing her bandages, bandages that she had loosen to help her breath, bandages that were now doing very little to suppress her feminine features. In fact, all they do is cover the two tell-tale, medium size bumps.

Kai's bust was average in size, not too big, and not too small, but big enough to give her a cleavage with a bit of bounce. And she wasn't at all comfortable with them.

"What…?" Asia muttered as she stumbled backwards, her eyes never leaving Kai's chest. "Breasts?" her eyes then widen in disbelief before she screamed, "You're a girl! Oh my god!"

Kai looked down at her chest and outwardly cursed. "Shit," she said as she wrapped her arms around her. Good god, this was not how she planned to reveal her gender! Especially not to this psychotic bitch!

Asia continued to stutter incoherently for a few moments, her eyes wide, unable to fathom the sight before her. "You…you slut!" Asia suddenly screamed as her face contorted into anger once again, turning red from rage. "You just wanted Ray for yourself!"

"What?"

"You bitch!" Asia continued to rant and rave, throwing insult after insult at Kai. "You stupid, ugly whore! Do you really think Ray would want someone like you!? You fucking sick cross dresser!"

That last insult really stung and Kai found herself wincing. She was right, she was a cross dresser, but she had good reason to! "You don't know what you're talking about, bitch."

"Oh my god, this is so laughable," Asia suddenly laughed, mockingly shaking her head. She was almost in hysterics. "You, wanting Ray? You're so selfish. He doesn't love you, he loves me. And only me. Why wouldn't he? I'm hot. I'm sexy. I'm perfect for him!"

"He doesn't love you," Kai hissed at her, folding her arms tighter around her chest. "And he never will."

Asia's eyes suddenly flashed dangerously and her body trembled with suppressed rage and Kai almost stepped back in fear. She has witnessed that look before, it's look of someone who is about to attack…

"Shut up, you whore!" she screamed and without warning, pushed Kai on her shoulders, forcing her backwards. Kai assumed that Asia had planned to simply push her to the ground and storm away to tell Ray and everyone the truth. But instead, she pushed her through the opened door to the wine cellar, making her tumble backwards down the hard stone stairway. All she remembers was tripping over the first step and hitting the last three before it went completely dark.

Kai hit the stone floor at the bottom of the stairs with a sickening crack and laid motionless on the floor. And all was quiet.

Suddenly, Kai released a painful groan as she swam through the sea of darkness. Intense pain immediately filled every fiber of her being and she curled herself into a ball, willing the pain to stop.

A deafening silence fills the air as Asia stared, shocked at what she had just done, with wide eyes down at Kai. She swallowed thickly, her mind reeling at what she should do. Kai lifted her head to look at her, a sense of fear in her eyes.

Asia's eyes suddenly harden and she took a step backwards. "You won't get in the way anymore," she said with a level voice. "You can't get in the way of true love."

Kai watched in disbelief as Asia slammed the door shut and listened as she locked it.

"No," Kai gasped, her voice hoarse from the pain as she pushed herself to her elbows. "Ray…"

Looking down at her injuries, Kai can see that her left ankle looked slightly deformed and she realized that she must have twisted it pretty badly. Slowly, she picked herself up into a sitting position, every single one of her injuries screamed in protest, but she ignored them. Grabbing her shirt, she removed it from her person and began to rip it into long, thin shreds, making temporary bandages.

This bitch just had to go too far, didn't she? That's it. Kai wasn't going to take it anymore.

"Ray," she whispered as she began to bandage her own wounds. "I have to warn him."


	12. Chapter 12

**Alarming Attachment**

**Summary:** It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation, but for Ray it's anything but. Meeting a girl called Asia who annoys him and dealing with Kai who appears annoyed with him, what's a neko to do? And what is it that Kai is hiding?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Anime Beyblade or any character associated. I do own Arista "Asia" Rainstorm. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not on based one anyone else's character, again if any likeness, it's purely coincidental.

**Warning:** Usage of a female OC. She is not the hero of the story, and the fic will not be centered on her. Any fans of OC pairings should leave now. Do not ask me to turn this fic into a Ray/OC or any other canon character/OC as I cannot stand such pairings. I have no hesitation in bashing my own created characters. **Female Kai.**

**AN:** This is the chapter everyone has been waiting for, I hope. I won't spoil anything, but I think you will like it. Well, I sincerely hope you do.

My most heartfelt thanks to everyone who reviewed. It's so nice to hear such words of encouragement for a newbie writer like me. Really, I appreciate everything. After I finish this story, I may write another Female!Kai fic. Maybe with a different pairing, aren't sure yet. Thanks to everyone again!

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Chapter Twelve:

For as long as Ray has known Kai, he learnt that when Kai doesn't want to be found then it's near impossible to find him! Even though he was certain of which path Kai took in his haste, Ray still hasn't stumbled across him.

No, wait, her! Argh, he has to know. Now!

Stepping into the dinning room where breakfast was being served, Ray glanced around, his gaze immediately drawn to the large table in the corner where the rest of his teammates sat together, Hilary calmly drinking her tea while Tyson ate his usually large breakfast, laughing every once in a while at something Max said. Kenny, as usual, was typing away on his laptop while Daichi tried to match Tyson's eating habits with his own enthusiasm.

Well, it was good to see that _someone_ was enjoying their vacation.

"Hey," Ray said as he approached the group, a little out of breath from his relentless search. "Has anyone seen Kai this morning?"

Tyson paused in his eating and took a moment to think. "I haven't seen him since yesterday," he replied with a shrug of his shoulder.

"Neither have I," Hilary answered as her eye rolled up towards the ceiling in thought before turning back to Ray, a hint of concern in her eyes when she took in his ruffled appearance. "Did something happen?"

Ray stayed silent for a moment and then it accrued to him. His teammates had no idea of the hell he's been through since he arrived here. They had no idea just how obsessed Asia was with him. They had no idea of the surprising and shocking secret Kai had. They were completely and utterly clueless!

"I just need to speak with him about something important," Ray muttered quickly, having no time to explain everything to them. All he wanted to do was to find Kai and get to the bottom of this. "I guess I'll just have to keep looking."

He didn't even wait for a response. He turned on his heel and stalked out of the dinning room and back into the courtyard. He might not know where Kai was at this exact moment in time, but he was certain that if Kai was anywhere, she'd be outside.

Walking through the lush garden landscape, Ray kept his eyes peeled for any sign of Kai. "Where are you, Kai?" he muttered under his breath. He had to find her, he had to. He didn't care if Kai wasn't a guy. That wasn't an issue. He just wanted to be with her, to by her side. He wanted to find her, pull her into his arms and tell her that everything would be ok.

That was all.

"Ray!"

Ray literally groaned out loud, his posture slumping forward in frustration and his eye gave an annoyed twitch. "What now?" he muttered through clenched teeth as the perky, heavy bosomed brunette appeared in his sight.

However, his frustration and annoyance soon turned to surprise and then confusion when Asia threw her arms around his neck and clung to him desperately.

"Kai won't get between us anymore," she said as she nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder.

Ray's brow knotted in deeper confusion as his hands stayed by his sides, refusing to even touch this girl at the moment. Didn't they already go through all of this? "What are you talking about?"

Asia pulled back slightly, but kept her arms around his neck. She appeared annoyed for a moment, no doubt angry that Ray wasn't hugging her back before her eyes then shimmered with a sense of understanding. "I know Kai convinced you to break up with me," she stated firmly, a growl in her voice when she said Kai's name.

"Break up?" Ray repeated, suddenly regaining the movement in his arms. He grabbed Asia by the shoulders and literally ripped her away from him. He kept his hands on her shoulders, keeping her back. "Kai didn't do anything," he said firmly as he bit the inside of his lip to stop himself from giving this girl a hard slap of reality across that pretty little face of hers.

But then his eyes widen in alarm. "Wait, what are you talking about Kai won't interfere?"

"Oh Ray," Asia sighed dramatically with a smile on her lips as she lifted her hands and placed them on his chest. "We can finally be together now."

"What did you do to Kai?" Ray demanded to know as he gave Asia a rough shake, his eyes turning into dangerous slits. "Tell me!"

Asia's eyes suddenly flashed dangerously as she dug her nails into his chest. "That whore was going to attack me!" she suddenly screamed, her face darkening into a frighten shade of red. "I had to do something to protect myself!"

Ray tightened his grip on her shoulders, the same way she tightened her grip on his chest. He didn't care that he might be hurting her at the moment. The threat that she hurt Kai was greater than her personal health and well-being. "What. Did. You. Do?" he said each word firmly with a hint of rage in each syllable.

"I did it for us," Asia said with a huffy tone, an annoyed pout forming on her lips. Shouldn't this be the moment where Ray confessed everything and fall into her arms, asking her to forgive him for being so foolish? After everything she did for him he still refused to acknowledge their love for each other? How stupid could he be?! It's obvious that they were made for each other!

"Can't you see that?" she asked as she framed his face in her hands.

"Us?" Ray spat harshly, as a dangerous look flashed in his amber eyes and he shoved her back harshly, looking at her like she's the most disgusting thing he ever came across. Which wouldn't be that far from the truth. "There _**is**_ no us? There never _**has**_ been and there never _**will**_ be!"

Asia reeled back at the venom in Ray's voice, staring at him in complete shock before tears began to flow down her cheeks. "Ray, please," she pleaded as she took a step forward, appearing ready to press herself against his chest. "I love you!"

"How can you say that?" Ray asked as he stepped to the side, avoiding her advances. "We've only just met! I don't feel that way towards you!"

Once again, Asia's mood swung wildly and a look of sheer annoyance appeared on her face as she planted her hands on her lips and stomped her foot, just like she usually did when things weren't going her way. "I won't let you go so easily, Ray," she said, surprisingly calm. Sounding like this was the most obvious thing in the word and that he was just in denial. "Can't you see? We're meant to be. You can learn to love me, I know you can."

Ray took an uneasy step backwards, Asia's sudden change in demeanor shocking him a bit. "You've lost it," he muttered, fear for Kai's safety growing stronger and stronger. "Get away from me."

"Ray!" she growled as she took a heavy step forward. "I'm not losing you to that slut! She's not good enough for you!"

"What are you talking about?" Ray asked, his heart suddenly thumping loudly in his chest. Asia said 'she'. Does she know about Kai…? Oh God, what happened to Kai? Where was she?

"I know the reason why Kai was so insistent that you break up with me," Asia continued, a small smile on her lips, a smile that had a bit of pride to it. Like she was proud of something she did. Something she did to Kai…

"That slut wanted you for herself," Asia said as she suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Ray by the arm, forcing him to look at her in the eyes. "I won't let her take you away from me!"

Ray was flabbergasted. "What?" he stuttered in shock, his eyes wide with fear.

"Get away from him, you _**bitch**_."

Suddenly, Asia released a scream of surprise and pain, and was abruptly ripped away from him. Ray stumbled backwards, fear being replaced by shock when a familiar dual blue-haired teen appeared. Kai had Asia by the hair as she pulled her away from him, she then quickly threw her to the ground, making her hit the soil beneath her hard.

Asia released a loud wheeze, appearing that she had the wind knocked out of her. She curled up into a fetus position while gasping desperately for air. A sudden and frightful scream passed her lips and tears poured from her eyes. She appeared to be in agony, and almost hysterical. She peered up at Ray, a sense of betrayal in the raven depths when Ray does nothing to comfort her. He didn't even lash out at Kai for hurting her!

"Ray…," Kai panted as she leaned heavily against her knees and continued to glare with such hatred at the girl on the ground. "You have to keep away from her…"

"Kai!" Ray said, immediately making his way over to her. He paused for a moment to take in her appearance. She was no longer wearing her dark blue sleeveless hoodie, instead all she had on was her shorts and the thick white bandages around her chest. Cuts and scrapes littered her slim body and shreds of blue material were wrapped around her left ankle as well as her forehead. The bandages around her chest did very little to hide her feminine features, but that did not concern Ray. What did concern him was the wince of pain on Kai's face and the way she was breathing rather harshly, like she couldn't get enough breath in.

"What happened?" he asks as he hovered near her, unsure what to do. He wanted to take her into his arms, to hold her, but he didn't know how badly Kai was hurt. "Are you alright? How badly are you hurt?"

Kai bowed her head slightly and appeared to be utterly embarrassed about the whole situation. "Ray…" she murmured, her arms moving to fold over her chest, in a feeble attempt to hide her obviously female chest from him.

Asia finally managed to get her breath back and picked herself up off the ground. She held her side as she wheezed and glared at Kai, her face screwing up into a dark scowl. "How did you get out?"

Kai snapped her head back up and glared at the girl, dropping her arms to let them hang by her sides, ready in case Asia tried anything else. "I have the master key," she said, a smirk on her lips when Asia's eyes widen in surprise. "I knew it would come in handy."

"You stupid bitch!" Asia screamed as she took a hard step forward and balled her hands into fists in front of her. "Why can't you just leave us alone?!"

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" Kai asked and took a shaky step forward, trying to hide the wince of pain on her face when she stepped on her injured ankle. "You tried to kill me by pushing me down a flight of stairs. Heh, you truly are brainless if you think that would stop me."

"Stop it!" Asia yelled as she abruptly shook her head, her usually silky brown hair covered in dirt and dust as it flew about from the rapid movements. "Ray loves me, not you!"

Something inside Ray seemed to snap and his released an animalistic snarl as his amber eyes darkened and turned to slits. "That's it," he snarled. "I've had enough of you."

Before either female had a chance to even blink, Ray lunged forward, grabbed Asia by the shoulder and roughly jabbed a pressure point in her neck. Asia's eyes widen in a look of shock and disbelief, before they rolled towards the back of her head and she slumped forward. Ray released his grip on her and watched with a mild sense of satisfaction as she hit the ground, out cold.

Kai watched him in disbelief and awe, never had she seen Ray so angry before. Or so in control. Hitting the pressure point in her neck so easily, so effortlessly, he was amazing.

"Ray?" she whispered before a streak of pain shot up her side from her lower ribs and she released a noise of discomfort and pain. She clutched her side, her eyes screwed shut as he began to sink to her knees.

"Kai!" Ray raced forward and skidded to Kai's side. Immediately, he knelt down next to her and pulled her into his arms, cradling her top half against his chest. He looked down upon Kai's face, his heart tightening when he noticed the emotion of embarrassment and guilt on her face. Her four blue triangles are smudged and almost unrecognizable.

"Ray…" Kai whispered, suddenly looking and sounding very tired.

Carefully, Ray removed her face paint with his thumb as he tenderly looked down at her. In his mind, he realized that the probable reason that Kai wore the face paint in the first place was to hide her feminine face. The way her hair now framed her face, the light shimmer of unshed tears in her eyes, an embarrassed blush on her cheek, it was now obvious to see that Kai was a girl.

A very beautiful one at that. But hey, Ray always thought that Kai was beautiful.

"You really are a girl," he whispered, not sounding angry or surprised, merely making an affirmation.

"I wanted to tell you," Kai whispered as the flush on her face darkened. "I just didn't know how…"

"It's ok," he told her softly as he continued to hold her close, his thumb gentle stroking the side of her face. "What did she do to you?"

Kai released a sigh as she rested her head on his shoulder, subconsciously curling herself deeper into his chest. She curled her fingers around his shirt and nuzzled her head under his chin. "She started yelling at me about trying to break up your relationship. I told her that you would never love someone as bitchy as her. She then slapped me, ripping my shirt in the process."

"So that's how she knew you were a girl," Ray muttered as he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, running his fingers through her hair in an attempt to comfort and soothe her bruised and battered body.

"She then pushed me down a flight of stairs that lead to a wine cellar and then locked me down there," Kai continued to explain, her body growing heavier and heavier in Ray's arms. "I had to use my shirt as bandages. It was ruined anyway. I managed to climb up the stairs and used the master key you gave me this morning to escape."

Ray pressed his lips into a thin line, frustration and rage bubbling in his chest. He opened his mouth to ask another question when Kai suddenly stiffened in his arms.

"Someone's coming," she muttered, a sense of panic appearing on her face.

Ray looked up in time to see two of his teammates, one the holder of the bitbeast Dragoon, the other the short haired brunette. He held Kai tighter in his arms, hiding her face against his chest as he rested his chin on top of her head.

As if Kai hadn't been through enough already!

"Dude!" Tyson said loudly as he waved his arms about in the air. "What's all the yelling about?" Suddenly, he paused mid step and blinked when he caught sight of Kai laying in Ray's arms. "Huh? Kai!"

Hilary snapped her head up and her eyes immediately widen. She dashed forward to see if there was something she could do, but then paused, Tyson faltering in step next to her. Both of them stared forward, eyes widening ever more so when they got a proper look at Kai. More importantly, the bandages around her chest…

"He's, I mean, she's…" Hilary stuttered, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Dude, wait-a-minute!" Tyson yelled as he took a step back. "Kai's a girl?!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Alarming Attachment**

**Summary:** It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation, but for Ray it's anything but. Meeting a girl called Asia who annoys him and dealing with Kai who appears annoyed with him, what's a neko to do? And what is it that Kai is hiding?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Anime Beyblade or any character associated. I do own Arista "Asia" Rainstorm. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not on based one anyone else's character, again if any likeness, it's purely coincidental.

**Warning:** Usage of a female OC. She is not the hero of the story, and the fic will not be centered on her. Any fans of OC pairings should leave now. Do not ask me to turn this fic into a Ray/OC or any other canon character/OC as I cannot stand such pairings. I have no hesitation in bashing my own created characters. **Female Kai.**

**AN:** Hello everyone. Here, I have another chapter I hope you enjoy reading. I added a tiny bit of Asia's past in here, if anyone's interested. I found Asia deeply annoying, yet fun to write. If I had a bad day, she was my release. In fact, I'm working on another fic where there is anoter deeply irritating OC for me to bash relentlessly.

My sincerest thanks to everyone who reviewed. I received 11 reviews for the last chapter, 71 in total and I could not be happier, or more surprised. For my first fic, I found the number of reviews I received absolutely astounding. Thank you all so very much!

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Chapter Thirteen:

"Kai's a girl?!"

A wave of panic struck Ray the moment those words left the mouth of a bewildered Tyson, who eyes were wide in disbelief and shock. The short brunette next to him wasn't any better, her hand covered her mouth in an vain attempt to stop a gasp of surprise that easily passed her lips.

In his arms, he felt Kai wince at the words and tried to press herself deeper into his chest. His heart ached as Kai's lithe frame trembled, either from shock or fear, he didn't know. She didn't need their eyes staring at her in shock, she didn't need them to stand there like a couple of statues gaping at her. She needed medical help and she needed it now!

"A girl that's hurt!" Ray quickly hissed loudly at his two immobile teammates, his amber eyes easily turning into slits as he held Kai protectively against him. A part of him was absolutely livid that Tyson and Hilary would opt to simply stare at their clearly injured teammate rather than race over to help.

Ok, so they thought Kai was a guy and the Kai before them was clearly a woman, it shouldn't have mattered. If someone was hurt, they should help.

"Just shut up and call an ambulance!" Ray barked his orders. "And the police too!"

The harsh and clearly enraged tone in Ray's voice quickly pulled Tyson from his state of shock and back into reality. "Er, right!" he replied, taking one last look at Kai before he nodded his head in determination. "I'll be right back, Kai."

He then turned on his heel and faster than Ray has ever seen him move, bolted back inside the hotel and disappeared from sight.

"Oh my God!" Hilary yelled in concern as she too was forced from her state by Ray's tone and she quickly scrambled her way over to kneel by Kai's other side. She lingered near her, her hands hovering as she wasn't sure what to do. "She's bleeding. What happened?"

Ray's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Asia pushed her down a flight of stairs."

"What?!" Hilary said, her own eyes narrowed with anger as well. She balled her hands into fists and trembled with suppressed rage as she bowed her head. "Grr, I knew that bitch was no good," she hissed as she peered around at her surroundings, no doubt looking for the offending female.

However, she blinked her eyes slowly when they fell onto the uncharacteristically unmoving form of the busty female. Asia laid a few feet away, laying on her stomach, her cheek pressed against the dusty soil, her long bangs covered her eyes, giving her a haunted look.

"What happened to her?" Hilary asked, not in concern, but in interest, a part of her hoping that Kai managed to get a punch in before she succumbed to her injuries.

"I knocked her out," Ray said with a smirk, his eyes also turning to gaze at the young woman who had proved to be nothing but a pain in his ass even since he met her. "After Kai threw her to the ground, of course."

"Heh," Hilary muttered as she balled her hand into a fist and shook it at the unconscious girl. "She's lucky that's all Kai did. If it was me I would have-"

"She probably won't wake up for a while," Ray said, turning his attention back to the young woman in his arms, his eyes softening considerably. "Hopefully."

Suddenly, a look of concern appeared on Ray's face when he felt Kai trembled in his arms once again. He leaned closer, turning his ear toward her. He then reeled back quickly and pulled Kai away from his chest. Kai's eyes were screwed shut tightly, gasps and pants escaping her lips in a harsh manner.

She was having difficultly breathing.

Oh shit. She must have cracked a rib or two when she fell.

"Dammit," Ray muttered as he carefully rearranged Kai in his arms so she was sitting up against his chest, her head leaning against his shoulder, her forehead against his cheek. "Take slow breathes Kai."

"I think I broke a rib," Kai wheezed, biting her lip to stop whimpers of pain from reaching the surface. "Maybe two or three."

Ray nodded his head and his gaze slowly drifted down to her bandages. He bit his lip for a moment before a look of determination appeared on his face. "Kai," he said firmly. "We need to take those bandages off. They're restricting your breathing."

Kai's eyes immediately widen, lifting a limp hand to lay across her chest. "You can't…," she muttered, a light blush spreading across her cheeks.

"Like hell I can't," Ray replied in a no-nonsense tone of voice, staring down at her with a stern, yet gentle and reassuring gaze before he turned to the other young woman. "Hilary, find me a pair of scissors, now."

"Right," Hilary said upon reflex before hesitating for a moment, looking down at Kai and clearly seeing the look of embarrassment on her face. Those bandages need to come off, but there won't be anything left to perverse Kai's dignity. She's already been through enough humiliation.

"But she'll be-" she said, pointing to Kai's chest.

Ray shrugged his shoulder and managed to pull of his own shirt in one fluid movement, his bronze skin glistening in the late morning sun. "This will cover her," he said as he placed it around her shoulders. "Hurry."

Hilary was satisfied with the compromise and she nodded. "Don't worry," she said softly to Kai as she placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I'll be right back Kai."

Kai watched in a state of shock as Hilary jumped to her feet and raced inside as well, in search for the scissors. She felt oddly…comforted that everyone was helping her instead of demanding to know why she hid her gender from them for so long. She always thought that if anyone was to find out the truth, they would yell and scream at her, calling her a liar and a freak, while demanding answers right there and then.

But…they hadn't…

"Ray?" Kai whispered softly, tilting her head back ever so slightly to gaze up at her dark-haired teammate. A light blush appeared on her cheeks when she realized that Ray was cradling her half-naked against his bare chest.

"I'm here Kai," Ray replied as he began to run his fingers through her hair, gentle and considerate. He wasn't treating her any different now that he knew she was a girl. But…

Kai swallowed thickly. "Do you hate me now?"

"Of course not," Ray's reply was quick and precise. "Why would I?"

"But I lied to you," Kai stated with a hint of guilt in her tone of voice as well as in her expression.

Nevertheless, Ray simply smiled down at her and he leaned forward to place a soft and lingering kiss on her lips, startling her greatly, but also causing her heart to skip a beat in happiness. She closed her eyes, momentarily forgetting where she was or what was going on around her, she leaned into the kiss, allowing Ray to simply move their lips together in a slow but meaningful dance.

"I'm sure you had good reason to," he said as he pulled back to place another soft kiss to her forehead. "Just try to relax and take deep breathes. I'm here and I promise that I won't go anywhere."

A soft smile appeared on Kai's lips as she stared up at Ray through half-lidded eyes. "That's nice to know…" she murmured as she leaned her head against his shoulder again, relaxing against him, a sigh of pure relief passed her lips as Ray tightened his arms around her shoulders.

This wasn't how she wanted to come out, but she was still glad that Ray didn't hate her and that he promised to stay by her side. She could get through this knowing that he still cared…

Ray continued to gaze tenderly down at Kai, noting that despite her heavy breathing, she looked, well, relieved. And happy.

"Whoa!" came yet another voice of one of his teammates and Kai immediately stiffened in his arms again. "Kai is a girl!"

Dammit, didn't he already go through all of this?!

Feeling his eye give an annoyed twitch, Ray turned to glance over his shoulder, the sight of a blonde, a brunette with glasses and a short redhead greeted him, all three teens wearing identical looks of complete and utter shock on their faces.

"B-but that isn't-" Kenny stuttered as he shook his head furiously.

Kai suddenly released a groan and she covered her face with her hands, her breathing becoming erratic again. "I didn't want to come out like this…" she whispered.

Once again, Ray found himself bristling in annoyance at those around him. "Grr, would you guys stop gawking already?!" he yelled loudly, his eyes once again narrow and vicious. If he wasn't holding Kai in his arms, he would have leapt to his feet and grabbed the gawkers by their collars and gave them a long, hard shake. "Can't you see she's embarrassed enough?"

"Sorry, it's just…" Max paused and shook his head. Ok, Kai was really a girl. That wasn't what was important right now. He can muse and freak out about this piece of information later, after all, it wasn't very day you you learn that one of your closest friends was a girl dressing as guy, now was it? However, Kai was in no condition for a long winded story why she was dressing as a guy. And it was clear to see that Ray was not in the mood to have those around him freaking out and asking Kai a million questions.

"Is there anything we can do?" He finally asked, still in a state of shock, but now concern filled his baby blue eyes.

"Wait out the front for the ambulance when Tyson calls it, ok?" Ray ordered, his eyes still narrowed in a glare. Where the hell was that ambulance anyway?!

"Sure," Max nodded as he turned to his two teammates. "Lets go Kenny, Daichi."

"Er, right," Kenny squeaked, intimidated by Ray's glare. He must have received lessons from Kai; it was so fierce.

Daichi scratched his head, clearly confused. "What's going on?"

But Max simply grabbed the two shorter males by the arms and dragged them away, neither youth protesting very much.

A mere moment later, Hilary reappeared from the hotel, a pair of scissors in her hands, being carefully while she jogged over to them.

"Here," she said as she knelt down by Kai's side again, handing Ray the scissors as she does so.

"Thanks Hil," Ray said with genuine gratitude as he takes the cutting utensils, biting the handle between his teeth as he turned to Kai and carefully moved his shirt around her so she was covered up the best way possible.

"Now, keep still Kai," He muttered as he carefully maneuvered Kai in his arms again, pressing her chest against his chest as he takes the scissors into his hand. "I don't want to hurt you more than you already are."

Carefully, with Hilary's help, Ray began to cut away the bandages, cutting the material at her side so he doesn't expose her chest, or expose her back, remembering the large scar that he wasn't suppose to know about yet. Each snip of the scissors caused the bandages to loosen and soon, they lost all elasticity and they fall away. Kai took a deep breath as the bandages pooled around her waist. It felt…weird not having something constrictive around her chest. She felt…naked.

Kai blushed madly when she realized that the thin material of Ray's shirt was the only thing between their bare skins. "Ray?" she practically squeaked when Ray pulled her against his chest, resting his chin on top of her head and held her as tight as he could without hurting her.

"Ambulance shouldn't be much longer now," Hilary said as she watched her two teammates, her heart just melting at the sight of them. She always liked it when the two were together; they balanced out each other well. And secretly, she always thought they would make a cute couple. It didn't bother her in the least that she thought they were two boys.

Love is love, regardless of gender.

"What's going on?" Came a deep male's voice, concern and surprise evidence in his tone. Suddenly, the figure of a tall man with slightly graying brown hair appears, looking weary and exhausted. "Why is there an ambulance pulling up out the front?"

Once again, Ray felt his panic begin to rise at the sight of Asia's father and he swallowed thickly. Oh crap, what should he do. The elderly gentleman had no idea what his daughter had done, or what she had been doing the entire time they were here.

"Arista?!" the elderly man suddenly yelled and immediately, he was kneeling by his daughter's side, holding her gently in his lap. "Arista? Can you hear me? What happened?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Rainstorm," Ray said suddenly, sitting up as Kai nuzzled her head under his chin and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Kai had a look of guilt on her face and Hilary lingered near by, her annoyance toward Asia is clear, but her heart went out to her father. It was clear, despite her lack of respect toward him, he still loved his daughter very much.

Asia's father was just another unfortunate victim to her selfishness.

"I had no choice," Ray continued. "It was the only way."

"What are you talking about?" Mr. Rainstorm asked, a look of desperate confusion on his face.

"Physically, she'll be fine, but mentally I'm not so sure," Ray said slowly, not wanting to offend him, but knowing that he might have to, to get his point across. "She attacked Kai here, pushing her down a flight of stairs to a wine cellar and then locked her down there."

"What?" Mr. Rainstorm's eyes immediately widen in a sense of disbelief before he shook his head in denial. "No, Arista would never do that. She's…" he suddenly trailed off as he looked down at his precious little girl and he slumped forward, his face crestfallen and sad.

"Mr. Rainstorm?"

"She used to be such a good girl, always so polite to everyone," he suddenly began to say, his words soft, sounding like can't pretend anymore. "She used to write her mother and I notes on how much she loved as both. But then…her mother was hit by a car," he voice suddenly broke and tears began to well in his eyes. "Arista, the little ball of energy she was, ran out into the road to get to the park. She didn't look both ways and stepped out right in front of a car driven by an elderly man. Her mother, bless her soul, pushed her out of the way, taking the full force of the car herself. She died instantly."

The three teens made noise of shock and sympathy, Hilary tearing up and Ray bowing his head in silent respect.

"I am so sorry," he whispered.

"God, she looks so much like her mother…" he whispered, pulling his daughter into his arms and giving her a big hug. Ever since that day, he never received a hug from his only daughter since. He missed his little girl so much…

"The ambulance is here!" Came Max's excited voice, Tyson and the others behind him. "And so are the police!"

Mr. Rainstorm's head snapped up, his eyes widening considerably. "The police?"

Ray gave a deep sigh as he climbed to his feet, holding Kai effortlessly in his arms much like he would carry a bride and gave the older man a look of sympathy, yet also held a bit of determination to it. "I'm sorry, Mr. Rainstorm, but…"

"I know," he suddenly cut him off, his face blank and his eyes turning to a dull brown, once again looking weary and broken. "My daughter needs help. This is the only way. I'm sorry Arista, I tried…"

Tightening her fingers around Ray's shirt, pulling it tighter around her chest, Kai lifted her head to look into Ray's eyes. "Ray?"

Ray carefully lowered Kai onto the stretcher, his hand gently cradling the back of her neck. "You're going to be ok," he whispered as he lowered his head and pressed his lips against Kai's in a chaste kiss before he leaned back and gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll be right behind you."

Kai's eyes softened as a smile of her own appeared on her lips. "Ok," she whispered, letting her eyes drift shut as the ambulance officers moved to place her and the stretcher in the back of the ambulance. As the doors slammed shut, Ray watched with an aching heart as the ambulance pulled away, the lights flashing wildly.

_She'll be ok…_

A hand on his shoulder pulled him from his dazed state and he turned around to find himself staring into a pair of deep brown eyes of a another female in his life. "She's in good hands," Hilary said to him with a reassuring smile on her face. "She's tough."

"Yeah, I know," Ray replied with a nod of his head. He turned to face everyone else, all of which were staring are him with a sense of confusion, intrigue and interest. "Let's go. We have to get to the hospital before Kai wakes up, ok?"

"Right!"


	14. Chapter 14

**Alarming Attachment**

**Summary:** It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation, but for Ray it's anything but. Meeting a girl called Asia who annoys him and dealing with Kai who appears annoyed with him, what's a neko to do? And what is it that Kai is hiding?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Anime Beyblade or any character associated. I do own Arista "Asia" Rainstorm. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not on based one anyone else's character, again if any likeness, it's purely coincidental.

**Warning:** Usage of a female OC. She is not the hero of the story, and the fic will not be centered on her. Any fans of OC pairings should leave now. Do not ask me to turn this fic into a Ray/OC or any other canon character/OC as I cannot stand such pairings. I have no hesitation in bashing my own created characters. **Female Kai.**

**AN:** Hello again. I am so glad so many people are enjoying this story. 84 reviews, that's amazing! Thank you to each and every one of you. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.

In this chapter, there's a short explanation to why Kai was dressing as a guy. But mainly, this chapter is filled with Ray and Kai fluff and cuteness. I hope you like reading it.

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Chapter Fourteen:

Doing his best to ignore the pungent disinfectant smell that always seemed to haunt the hallways of any hospital, Ray lingered in a doorway, his amber eyes trained at one particular spot. On a pristine white bed in an equally dull room, laid the form of a very extraordinary being. Sleeping soundly, Kai looked almost angelic like with her usually spiky hair now in soft curls as they framed her face. Her blue triangles that used to adorn her cheeks are gone, no traces of them at all. She wore a light blue hospital gown as the white blankets laid folded on her abdomen.

Despite the small white bandages that cover parts of her skin on her arms, Kai looked truly beautiful as her obviously female chest raised and fell with each breathe. Her breathing had even out, much better than when Ray held her in his arms back at the hotel. Though, still a little strained, her breathes came easier now and she didn't appear to be in that much pain.

Ray's eyes softened as he walked soundlessly into the room and he stopped by the bed. The dash to the hospital was a nerve-wracking one for him. Sitting in the back of a taxi while his remaining teammates circled around him like vultures, firing off rapid questions left, right and centre almost did his head in. Of course, there wasn't much for him to tell; not that he was in any mood to, anyway. He just wanted to get to the hospital and see Kai.

He just wanted to see her again.

Carefully, Ray lifted his hand and gently trailed his fingers cover Kai's cheek, a sense of relief appearing when he realized her cheek was warm with life. Kai suddenly sighed and her brow creased with slight discomfort as she leaned her head towards his hand. Ray smiled and gently caressed Kai's cheek, his heart filling with warmth when Kai uttered a soft sigh and relaxed in her sleep.

Oh, if she wasn't unconscious right now, he'd kiss her for being so cute.

"She's quite pretty, isn't she?" A familiar female voice asked behind him. However, the voice didn't startled him and Ray simply continued to admired Kai as she slept.

Ray ran his eyes over Kai's face and nodded his head. "Yeah…" he whispered, not wanting to disturb her for the moment. Reluctantly, he removed his hand and chuckled when Kai made a noise of disapproval. He turned to Hilary, motioned for her to be quiet and pointed near the door.

"It's unbelievable, really," Hilary said as she and Ray stepped out of the room to give Kai some much-needed peace. "How she was able to hide her gender from us for so long."

"Yeah, it is," Ray nodded, once again turning his eyes back to Kai, seemingly reluctant to let her out of his sight again. "I mean, I shared a room with her for two years! You'd think I'd notice something. But…she's always been good at hiding, in every sense of the word."

Hilary nodded and turned to look back into the room as well, her eyes holding a sense of concern for her friend's health and well-being. Ray turned to her for a moment, looking at her with a sense of curiosity. Hilary, as well as the other members of their little family, had held a great fondness toward Kai. Tyson even told him that Hilary once referred to Kai as cute.

Did she have a crush on her too?

"You had a crush on Kai at one stage, didn't you?" Ray decided to ask, keeping his words short and to the point and had to bite his lip when a feeling of jealously suddenly appeared.

"I admired Kai," Hilary was quick to interject and gave Ray a look that held a sense of amusement, like she knew he was feeling a bit jealous. "And I still do. You guys are like brothers to me, and the thought of dating one of my brother is just…ew…"

Ray just had to laugh at the look of disgust on Hilary's face, her nose cutely scrunched up and a pout on her lips. "No offense," he said, placing a friendly hand on her shoulder. "But the thought of dating you, who we see as a sister, is pretty unnerving as well."

"No offense taken," Hilary replied as she waved her hand in dismissal. "Besides, you and Kai would make an adorable couple." Suddenly, she grinned and elbowed Ray in the ribs, giving him a smug look. "See, I always knew there was something between the two of you."

Ray immediately turned his gaze back to Kai and he nodded, knowing to what Hilary was referring to; how they would always find themselves together somehow. Sitting next to each other all the time, be it in the comfort of the dojo, their hotel room or on some sort of transport.

"Yeah, you're right."

"So…are the two of you dating?" Hilary asked quickly, giving Ray the impression she wanted to ask that question ages ago.

Ray froze for a moment and then slowly turned to face her, slight amusement building when he realized that Hilary was looking at him in a dreamy like state. He could have sworn there were hearts dancing about in her eyes. "Kinda," he told her, slightly uncomfortable as he wasn't sure himself. He adores Kai. A lot. But he wasn't sure where they stand at the moment. There hadn't been time to figure out what they have between them.

"It's hard to explain."

"What do you feel towards her?" Hilary asked.

"I adore her," Ray told her, the words coming out easily and freely. "I have for a long time."

A warm smile appeared on Hilary's lips and she nodded, happy with the answer.

"I need to speak with Kai," Ray said, a sense of determination in his voice, his eyes not once leaving Kai. "About why she's been hiding all these years."

Again, Hilary nodded. "We all would like to know that."

"I wish to speak with her alone."

Hilary blinked and snapped her attention to her dark-haired teammate. "What?"

"Think about it," Ray said as he gave Hilary a pointed look. "If we all push our way in her room, she might think we are ganging up on her. She's been ousted in the worse possible way. I think we need to be just that little bit understanding and delicate towards her."

Once again, Hilary blinked as she stood silently, before her face softened into a look of understanding with a tinge of guilt. "You're right," she said. "I understand what you're saying. She would feel intimidated if we all go."

Ray could tell there was a sense of disappointment in Hilary's voice and he tried to reassure the female. "If Kai allows it, I can tell you what she tells me, ok?"

That suggestion seemed to be satisfactory for Hilary as she nodded and turned away from the door. "I'm going to go out and get Kai some girl clothing. It might help in getting used to Kai being a girl," she said before adding, "For us and for her."

"Good idea," Ray said as he nodded his approval. "Oh, Hilary?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't get anything too pink, frilly or girly, ok?" Ray said with a slightly pained look on his face, seemingly imaging Kai's reaction of being placed in a frilly little frock with pink ribbon and bows. "I don't think Kai would like that very much."

Hilary couldn't help but giggle at the pleading expression on Ray's face as he would probably have to be the one to calm Kai down if she did get her something outside her own tastes. "Sure," she replied, reassuring the neko before she turned on her heel and began to walk away, her hand on her chin. "Hmm, I wonder what size Kai is…" she muttered.

Ray watched her leave, a sense of pride in his being at how well his teammates were behaving at the moment. Although, all concerned and intrigued with Kai's situation, none of them were loitering around, making pests of themselves. In fact, in a rare case of maturity, Tyson was actually helping the police with some of their enquires, as he knew most of what happened from a brief chat with Ray.

Just as he stepped back into the room, he heard a light noise coming from the bed. He looked up just in time to see Kai stir, her eyes blinking wearily at her surroundings. She looked confused, lost even so Ray quickly made his way over to her bedside and took her hand to comfort her.

"Easy there, Kai," he said, smiling warmly when Kai snapped her head toward him, her eyes still appearing unfocused. "You're at the hospital. Asia isn't here. She's under police guard, don't worry."

"Hospital?" Kai murmured as she struggled to sit up but ended up leaning to the side and falling into Ray's chest. Despite her dizziness, a light blush appeared on her cheeks when she remembered how Ray held her against his bare chest while she was half-naked and how he was not the slightest bit awkward or uncomfortable about it.

"You ok, Kai?" Ray asked as he carefully wrapped his arms around Kai's body and held her in his arm once again. A soft smile adorned his lips as he notes how he liked having Kai against him like that. It felt natural for him to hold her tightly in his arms and never want to let her go.

Kai tried to push away so she could look into his face, but Ray refused to let her go. He simply tightened his arms around her and rested his cheek on her hair, tucking her head under his chin. Kai struggled for a moment, but then relented and rested her ear against his chest and listened to his heartbeat as she folded her hands against her own chest and sighed.

"You have questions, don't you?" She asked softly, almost afraid to break the silence between them, but she knew it had to be done. She had hidden herself for long enough. Personally, she was surprised the room wasn't packed with her teammates, all asking questions at the same time. Once again, they managed to surprise her.

It appeared that Kai had underestimated her teammates' just a little. Was she too busy trying to hide herself from them to take note at how much they have matured over the years she spent with them?

"A few questions," Ray said. "If I could."

Kai drew in a deep breathe and released it on a sigh. "You want to know why I'm dressing as a guy."

"Yeah."

Kai hesitated in answering for a moment, not sure whether to go with a long-winded story or just the short blunt version. She decided to go with the second option, simply because she wasn't comfortable talking about herself and her life in great detail just yet. She has always been taught to answer briefly and to the point.

If Ray wanted to know more, she can tell him a more detailed story later.

When she was ready…

"It's simple, really," Kai muttered, a sense of bitterness in her voice and eyes. "My grandfather didn't want a granddaughter, he wanted a grandson, but was stuck with me. To rectify that problem, I was forced to start dressing and acting like a guy. Pretty easy, considering I was raised in an all boys Abbey in Russia."

Ray half-expected Kai to be a little vague on the exact details and he tried to refrain himself from pressing her further on the facts she gave him, like why her grandfather wanted a grandson and what happened to her parents. Well, he kinda already knows the answer to that last question. They were both deceased, apparently killed when Kai was very young.

For as long as he had known Kai, she rarely speaks about herself, if not at all. She expertly dodged any personal questions, somehow turning the questions back to the person answering the question in the first place. So, to save Kai from becoming stressed or hostile toward him, Ray decided to let that explanation slide for now. It obviously took a lot of Kai's courage to even tell him that much.

"You were the only girl?" he asked, that sense of jealously raising its head again when he thought about Kai being in the same place with a bunch of wild and manic guys. Sure, they probably had no idea Kai was a girl, but that's beside the point!

"Yeah," Kai murmured, a sense of surprise in her tone at how Ray was letting her move on from her short and blunt explanation. "They were completely forbidden. There weren't even any female doctors in there."

Ray's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why?"

"Boris and Voltaire were pretty sexist," Kai answered once again bluntly. "They just didn't want to believe that a women had any sort of use other than cleaning. And when I rebelled against him that time in Russia, it only strengthen his belief that females are nothing but trouble."

Ah, so that was why Voltaire wanted a grandson instead of a granddaughter. Explained a lot, actually. Voltaire was always known to be a tad, ok, really eccentric. So making Kai dress as a guy simply because he didn't want a granddaughter seemed pretty logical if you added him into the equation. But still, there's still one thing Kai hadn't answered yet…

"But I don't really care what he thinks anymore," Kai continued, still sounding bitter and annoyed. "He can just rot in that prison cell of his."

"If you rebelled against your grandfather, why didn't you completely free yourself by revealing your gender?" Ray asked, tightening his arms reassuringly around her when he felt her stiffen in his arms.

"You…," Kai murmured before she suddenly slumped into his arms, the blush reappearing on her cheeks. "You weren't supposed to get close to me. I had it all figured out. I would help you guys to the World Championships and then leave, fulfilling my duty as the team captain. But…"

The corner of Ray's mouth twitched into a smile, an almost playful one. "We got under your skin."

"Yeah…The longer I spent with you, the harder it was to leave," Kai continued with a tinge of guilt in her voice. "And the more difficult it was to keep my secret."

"I'm sorry," Ray said suddenly as he nuzzled his cheek into her soft, silk like hair. "I feel foolish."

"What?" Kai stuttered, placing her hands on his chest and abruptly pushed herself back so she could stare up at him with wide eyes. "Why?"

Ray simply smiled at her, gentle and loving. "I shared a room with you for two years, Kai, and didn't realize that you were a girl," he shook his head in disbelief before he turned to give Kai a concerned look. "Those bandages, didn't they hurt?"

"I…," Kai stuttered as she lifted a hand and placed it over her chest, suddenly becoming self-conscious and embarrassed of her feminine assets. "I've been wearing them for so long that I'm used to them. I feel uncomfortable without them."

"Do you feel uncomfortable now?"

Kai looked off to the side, her blush darkening a shade of two. "…yeah."

"Well, you better get used to it," Ray told her firmly.

Kai tilted her head to the side in query. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you've cracked a rib, fractured another and bruised a lung," he explained as he remembered what the doctor told him as he entered the hospital and demanded to know Kai's condition. "We can't have anything tight around your rib cage until they heal."

"But-!"

Ray quickly placed a finger to her lips to hush her. "Besides, we know you're a girl now. There's no need to hide anymore."

Kai looked at him for a moment before her eyes softened and she nodded, knowing that he spoke the truth. There was no point in hiding now. Everyone knows so there was no way she could deny that.

She just wished it happened in a different way…

"You were jealous of Asia, weren't you?" Ray suddenly asked, as a grin appeared on his lips.

"What?"


	15. Chapter 15

**Alarming Attachment**

**Summary:** It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation, but for Ray it's anything but. Meeting a girl called Asia who annoys him and dealing with Kai who appears annoyed with him, what's a neko to do? And what is it that Kai is hiding?

**Pairings:** Ray/Kai, Onesided Ray/Asia

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Anime Beyblade or any character associated. I do own Arista "Asia" Rainstorm. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not based on anyone else's character, again if any likeness, it's purely coincidental.

**Warning:** Female Kai. Usage of a female OC. She is not the hero of the story, and the fic will not be centered on her. Any fans of OC pairings should leave now. Do not ask me to turn this fic into a Ray/OC or any other canon character/OC as I cannot stand such pairings. I have no hesitation in bashing my own created characters.

**AN:** I apologize for the long wait, but for whatever reason, this chapter was giving me a major headache. I just couldn't get the words right. I suppose I had what you call mild writer's block. Not much fun, is it?

Without further ado, please enjoy this latest chapter. Comments and reviews are all appreciated. Reviews keep the inspiration alive and the adrenaline going. Thank you all very much.

* * *

Chapter Fifteen:

"You were jealous of Asia, weren't you?" Ray asked with a cheeky grin on his lips.

"What?" Kai said as she pushed herself back, a look of surprise on her face but it soon disappeared and an expression of disgust took its place. "What did she have that I could possible be jealous of?"

Ray suddenly moved forward and wrapped his arms around her once again, moving her so her hands were trapped against his chest and they were nearly nose-to-nose. "Me?" he said as he tilted his head to the side in question.

"What?" Kai stuttered as she fell into his chest, a dark blush dancing across her cheeks. If it weren't for Ray's arm holding her secure and safe, she was certain to have fallen off the bed she was so close to the edge. "What are you-?"

Gently, Ray cut her off by lifting a hand and letting it trail slowly up her side, arm, shoulder and neck. His thumb traced along her jaw line before moving to cradled the side of her face, his fingers entangling themselves in the rouge strands of hair around her ear. "There was nothing to be jealous of," he whispered as he carefully titled Kai's flushed face toward him.

Kai eyes widen at how close Ray was to her, she could feel his warm breath on her lips and they tingled with delight. "Ray?"

"I like you, Kai," Ray told her, his voice sincere and genuine. "I like you more than a friend. I've had a crush on you for the longest time."

"I…" Kai stuttered but then fell silent.

Ever since they first kissed back at the hotel, Kai had found herself inwardly debating what that kiss meant and how Ray felt towards her. Hearing him say the words, the words that he had liked her more than a friend really brought it home. In those few sentences, he summed up her feelings as well. He liked her as much as she liked him.

"I like you too, Ray," she whispered, her eyes becoming half-lidded with anticipation, her heart beating wildly in her chest.

A warm smile appeared on Ray's lips as he took a moment to gaze down at this beautiful young woman in his arms before his own eyes slid shut as he moved forward. His mouth closed over Kai's, and she was swallowed up in a fierce wave of pleasure. She curled her fingers tightly in his shirt, allowing Ray to pull her closer against him. Her hands suddenly relaxed and she slid them up his chest to wrap her arms around his neck. Ray's hand moved from her face to entwine his fingers in her hair, tilting her head just a little bit more to allow himself to run his tongue over her lips. Kai parted her lips on a gasp of pleasure, the gasp turning into a moan when Ray wasted no time in slipping past the serrated line of her teeth and devouring the warm softness of her mouth with his tongue.

Ray was in heaven. Kai tasted better than he remembered. He brushed his tongue against Kai's and he felt a shot of electricity shoot through him at the contact. He brushed his tongue against hers again, coaxing her to be a bit more assertive. Kai took up the challenge and soon they were lapping up the distinct taste of each like a dehydrated man in a desert oasis.

Removing his hand from her hair to wrap an arm around her back, Ray ran his tongue along the roof of Kai's mouth before pulling back to break the kiss. As Kai panted softly from the passionate kiss, Ray boldly leaned forward and placed a soft and experimental kiss on the side of her neck.

"Ray," Kai gasped as a jolt of pleasure shook her body. Her arms unwound themselves from around his neck and she rested her hands on his shoulder blades, once again her fingers grasping the material of his shirt tightly.

A sly grin made its way onto his lips and Ray moved forward to press his lips to her neck again. When he received no sign of disapproval, he closed his mouth over the sensitive skin and shamelessly begins to suck and lick her into complete submission.

"Ray?" Kai whimpered as she tilted her head to the side to give him more room. Ripples of pleasure shook her body in such a way she never felt before. A dark blush adorned her features as she made a half-hearted attempt to push the neko away. "Someone might see."

Reluctantly, Ray pulled back, happy with the light pink mark on her neck, one that will fade in quickly as he was being careful and gave her a cheeky look as he pecked her on the lips. "I guess it's not necessary to ask if you want to be my girlfriend, huh?"

"Girlfriend?" Kai murmured, her blush still lingering as she thought of people knowing as Ray's girlfriend. That gave her the prefect excuse to chase away any more Asia's out there.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her and she felt slightly nervous. "I guess that means you don't want me dressing as a guy anymore, either," she muttered, the thought of suddenly coming out as a girl made her felt uneasy.

"There's no point, Kai," Ray told her bluntly, but a sense of understanding in his voice when he realizes that she would be uncomfortable about the whole process. "We know now. Besides, I think it will be best if you keep those bandages off for a while, don't you?"

Kai remained silent for a moment. "…You're not going to get me in a dress, Kon," she warned, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

A laugh erupted from Ray's throat and he shook his head in amusement. "I'm not trying to, although I sure you would look amazing," he added, which earned himself a blush of embarrassment. "But I am not going to treat you like I used to."

"What?"

"How could I?" he asked, that same cheeky neko type grin spreading across his lips. "Now that I can shower you with affection whenever I want?"

Kai didn't know whether to be pleased with that answer, or nervous as now the neko would pounce on her whenever he felt fit. And from that look of tenderness and warmth, with a hint of mischievousness, in his eyes she knew that there was very little she could do to stop him.

And she knew deep within her heart, she didn't want to.

"…I'll continue to dress as a guy for Beyblade matches, ok?" she said after a moment of silence. "I just…don't want to whole world to know yet."

"Ok," Ray said, pleased with the compromise. Truthfully, he wanted Kai to dress as a guy for their battles as well, only because it might keep away any potential love interests in the form of their fellow bladers.

And he knew that if any of the others find out, a certain handful of them would come after Kai like she was the last piece of candy at a weight watches convention.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Ray leaned forward and pressed their lips together once again. Ray was holding her in such a way that Kai had to grasp onto his shoulders as he leaned her back, deepening the kiss. Just as he ran his tongue over her lips like he did before, the door to Kai's hospital room flew open and a certain group of impatient individuals piled in.

"Ahem," Max forced a cough, which made the two embracing teen push away from each other. Ray took a step back as Kai stared at them from her bed, frazzled and embarrassed.

"Don't you knock?" Kai asked them as her eyebrow gave a sudden twitch, but feeling like she wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

But the others chose to ignore her question and simply looked at her with expressions of amusement. "I guess we're going to have to get used to seeing stuff like that," Tyson suddenly teased.

"Oh, how sweet," Hilary giggled into the bags she was holding in her arms. She then looked own at them and took the steps necessary to get to Kai's bed. She placed the bags on a chair near her bed and pulled out a set of clothing she had already picked out for her to wear today.

"I bought you some new clothes," she said as she handed the bundle over to her.

Kai looked at the offering with a weary gaze; mildly noting that although she didn't see any bright colors at the moment, didn't mean they're not there some where.

"Don't worry," Hilary said with a laughing tone. "There's nothing pink in there."

Kai blushed lightly and took the clothing from her setting it down on her lap. "…Thank you," she murmurs, still uncomfortable in the fact that everyone knows she was a girl.

"I had no idea what size you were, so I got your clothes bigger than you probably need," Hilary said, heedless of her uneasiness. "Just so you would be comfortable. Do you want to get dressed now?"

Kai looked down at the clothes again and then at the hideous hospital gown. "…I suppose."

"Great," Hilary said as she clapped her hands in front of her and gave the reluctant female a bright smile. She then suddenly turned to the other occupants in the room and gave them a stern look. "Now, you guys, shoo! I'll help Kai into her new clothes, you wait outside."

The guys looked ready to protest at being ordered around, but Hilary simply started pushing them out. "If you think I'm going to let you stay in her while she gets dressed, then you've got another thing coming," she then glanced over her shoulder and sent Ray a look. "Same goes with you, Ray."

"Fine, fine. I'm going," Ray said as he threw her hands up in surrender. He then placed a quick kiss to Kai's cheek, startling her before moving to step outside. "We'll be just outside, Kai."

Kai gingerly touched her cheek were Ray kissed her and nodded. "I'll be fine," she muttered as Ray closed the door.

When the door shut with a click, Ray turned around and found himself the subject of several knowing looks and he felt a trickle of sweat slip down from his temple. "Er, what's up?"

"You and Kai, huh?" Tyson said, seemingly relishing in the neko's discomfort. "How long as this been happening?"

"We're officially together as of ten minutes ago," Ray said, unable to stop himself from smiling. "But I've been crushing on her for ages."

"Did Kai tell you the reason why she was dressing as a guy in the first place?" Kenny asked, is laptop shut and sitting snuggly under his arm. "I bet it was because of her grandfather, right?"

Ray pressed his lips together in annoyance at the thought of the old tyrant and nodded. "Yeah. Apparently, from what Kai told me, he was a sexist pig."

"That would explain a lot," Max said as he nodded his head in understanding.

Suddenly, the door opened behind Ray and Hilary popped her head out, looking pleased with herself. "You can come in now," she said as she moved to open the door further, letting Ray in first.

When he stepped back inside, Ray saw Kai in her new attire and felt his mouth drop open. Sure, her clothing was pretty casual, but she looked amazing. She wore a simple light blue denim skirt with the hemline purposely frayed and a simple black singlet top with the word 'Angel' written in silver and purple on the front. The top was long; easily covering the waistband of her skirt. And it was comfortable; not too big and not too tight.

It appeared that Hilary did her hair as well. Her long midnight blue hair at the back had been pulled into a very loose bun at the back of her head; her stormy gray tresses are now softly framing her face, two long strands, one on either side of her face, trails down with gentle waves to touch her chest.

Kai sat on the edge of the bed; her long legs just touching the floor, a thick bandage covered one ankle as the other remained bare. Next to the bed was a pair of crutches for her to use until her ankle had fully recovered. She had a hairline fracture in one of the bones in her ankle, so she had been ordered to use those crutches until the bone heals. And Ray was going to make sure she stuck to that order.

"Well?" Hilary said as she moved to stand with the others. "What do you think?"

"You look great, Kai," Ray complimented as he took a step forward.

Kai looked up at him before she promptly blushed and turned her head away, embarrassed. "I feel weird," she muttered, one hand grasping the edge of the bed as the other moved to play with her top, subconscious mostly about her chest.

"We'll have to go bra shopping when you've healed enough to wear one," Hilary suddenly announces, a happy smile on her lips. She loved hanging around with her boys, but it was also nice to have another girl around. And she couldn't have asked for a better female companion than Kai. Oh, it was going to be so much fun teaching Kai how to be a girl!

Kai outwardly grimaced and Ray had to bite his lip to stop himself from letting loose a chuckle.

"Oh, it'll be fun," Hilary continued as she gave Ray a look as well. "Ray should come as well."

Ray abruptly stopped his inner chuckles and turned to face her with a bewildered look. "Wha-?"

"Don't you dare think of making any excuses, Kon," Kai suddenly hissed at him. "If I'm going shopping, you're coming too."

"Besides," Hilary giggled as she playfully nudged Ray in the side. "We'll need a big, strong male to hold all the bags."

Despite himself, a smile appeared on Ray's lips as he turned to look at Kai again. She had the most sour look on her face, her eyebrows creased in annoyance and her lips drawn into a cute pout. And he didn't miss the name Kon by any means. Guy or girl, Kai was still Kai and she still resorted to his last name whenever she was annoyed about something.

"Um, hey guys," Max said, a sense of reluctance in his voice. "I don't want to be a downer, but what happened to Asia?"

"Crap," Ray said as he winced. "I almost forgot about her."


	16. Chapter 16

**Alarming Attachment**

**Summary:** It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation, but for Ray it's anything but. Meeting a girl called Asia who annoys him and dealing with Kai who appears annoyed with him, what's a neko to do? And what is it that Kai is hiding?

**Pairings:** Ray/Kai, One-sided Ray/Asia

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Anime Beyblade or any character associated. I do own Arista "Asia" Rainstorm. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not based on anyone else's character, again if any likeness, it's purely coincidental.

**Warning:** Female Kai. Usage of a female OC. She is not the hero of the story, and the fic will not be centered on her. Any fans of OC pairings should leave now. Do not ask me to turn this fic into a Ray/OC or any other canon character/OC as I cannot stand such pairings. I have no hesitation in bashing my own created characters.

**AN:** Hello everyone. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. It's amazing, isn't it? Over 100 reviews! I'm truly in awe. Thank you all very much.

A quick update today before I shoot off as I have other places I need to be, even though I don't particularly want to go. Especially with a day like today, being on my computer replying to all my lovely reviewers sounds good. But alas, I can't.

In this chapter we learn a bit more about Asia and why she's the way she is today. Of course it wouldn't be right if there wasn't some Ray/Kai fluff thrown in as well for good measure. Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you and enjoy the latest chapter.

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Chapter Sixteen:

Ray ran a frustrated hand through his hair. Truthfully, after all the excitement of finding out why Kai is dressing as a guy and finally getting his feelings across, he plain forgot about the reason why they were in the hospital in the first place.

They were here because of Asia.

Just what were they going to do about Asia? Was there anything they can do?

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence as they all thought about the dual haired brunette and where she could be right now. From what they knew, Asia was in this same hospital somewhere, under police surveillance. Whether she meant to push Kai down those stone steps or not was irrelevant. She assaulted Kai, causing grievous bodily harm and she must be punished for it.

Perhaps it would be best if they simply left town and not have to deal with Asia ever again. Just forget the whole thing and move forward. After all, Ray now has Kai as his girlfriend. He's got some planning to do.

He said that he wouldn't get her in a dress, but he can't help but wonder what she would look like wearing one. He never thought she would wear a skirt, but Hilary got her in one, and a small part of him thought smugly that she did it for him to enjoy. And enjoy it he did. Kai looked great in a skirt, her long slender legs going for miles. Her milky white skin was a contrast to her black top, but it suited her so well. She had a natural beauty about her, and her current shy and uncertain personality only added to her attractiveness. She looked almost delicate, but Ray knew from firsthand experience how much of a spitfire she really was.

Throwing Asia to the ground with a flick of her wrist came to mind.

She was nothing like Asia, and to be quite frank, Asia's got nothing on her. Asia was pretty, but not beautiful. And it appeared to Ray that she put a lot of effort into her appearance, believing that it would get her wherever she wanted to go in life.

And that lead him back to the question at hand; what about Asia now?

"I want to speak with Mr. Rainstorm before we leave," Kai suddenly said as she moved to grab her crutches on her own.

Kai's announcement quickly pulled Ray out of his daydreams. "Kai?" he said, as he blinked his amber eyes, confused.

Kai ignored the expressions of shock on everyone faces and grabbed her crutches, reluctantly taking them and placing them under her arms to use. She hated to show any sign of weakness, but she also hated to prolong any injury, so she decided to simply bite the bullet and use the crutches as they were intended.

"I need to ask him some questions regarding Asia," she explained as she placed her uninjured foot on the cold floor and wobbly took to her feet.

Ray immediately made his way over to Kai's side and helped her to stand up straight. "Kai, it might be best if we just leave it," he said, not wanting to put the beautiful female under any more stress, but he inwardly knew his words were in vain. Kai was a slightly stubborn person, and when she wanted to do something, very little got in her way.

Still, that didn't stop him from trying.

"Asia's sick, Ray," Kai said bluntly, but not derogatory. "There's something wrong with her, there has to be. Losing a loved one is no excuse for what she has put you through," she added the last part softly; a light blush adorned her cheeks as she said that.

Ray felt a sense of warmth enter his heart when Kai said that. She obviously wasn't angry at Asia for pushing her down the stairs, but the way she treated him during their stay at Motel Fig Tree.

"Or what she did to you," Ray reminded as he took a step forward and pulled Kai into his arms, startling her enough to drop her crutches in surprise and she fell against him. Kai's arms fell limply by her sides as her chin came to a rest on Ray's shoulder, whose arms wrapped around her body tightly. One arm was around her waist, the other entangled in the strands of her hair, messing up the bun Hilary did roughly moments before. Ray was mindful to her injuries so he didn't hold her as tightly as he wanted, but he held her tight enough so she wouldn't be able to push away.

A light smile made its way onto his lips as Ray pulled Kai's feminine body against his, noting on how much softer it was compared to his. Despite being quite a strong person, Kai had a surprisingly slender body. She was thin, but not an unhealthy thin, with only slightly feminine curves. Still, she was a very beautiful young woman, and he was still in awe at how well she managed to pull off the façade of being a badass male. Bounding those pert but tender breasts of hers must have been torture.

But after doing it for so long Kai must have been able to live with the discomfort.

In the neko's arms, Kai was blushing a bright red. While Ray was either oblivious to the other occupants in the room -or didn't care in the slightest that they were watching silently from the sidelines- Kai wasn't so brash. She felt them staring at her in surprise, or in Hilary's case, dreamy amusement.

"Ray?" she stuttered.

"Something else must have happened," Ray said as he continued to hold her close, but after a moment he pulled back and held onto her by her arms so she wouldn't fall. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Kai looked into Ray's eyes, her blush melting slightly at the concern within his eyes. "I'll be ok by myself," she replied and gave him a soft smile. "But thanks anyway."

Ray gave her a small smile of his own, one that held a sense of reluctance to it as he allowed Kai to hold onto her hospital bed again and he retrieved her crutches. He helped her become steady on her feet and followed her through the door. They quickly found a nurse that pointed them in the direction of their intended target and they stopped a corridor away.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Kai?" Ray asked one last time for good measure.

Kai rolled her eyes and nodded. "Yes," she said. "I'm only speaking with Asia's father, not Asia herself. She won't be attacking me a second time, I can tell you."

_Those are fighting words,_ Ray mused to himself as he watched his girlfriend –he can't get enough of saying that word- walk over to the hunched figure of their gracious host as he sat on those hard waiting chairs outside of a closed door room. He looked tired, weary, like he has had enough of everything. Ray's eyes softened with sympathy, knowing that the kindly gentleman was another victim to Asia's abuse and manipulation.

As he turned his back on the scene to give Kai the privacy to speak with the older man, he hoped that Kai would find the answers she seeks. And maybe some answers to his own questions.

"Mr. Rainstorm?" Kai said as approached the man that appeared to have the world on his shoulders.

Slowly, the slightly graying man looks up; his brown eyes dull in color before a flash of recognition appeared. "Oh, it's you," he said, not bitterly like Kai expected, but with very little emotion at all.

"Um, yeah…" Kai said awkwardly as she moved to take a seat on the other end of the row of plastic chairs, leaving a few empty seats between them. An awkward silence fell over them as Kai played with the hem of her skirt, pulling at the loose threads as her mind reeled to find something to say.

"It's good to see your injuries aren't that serious," Mr. Rainstorm said, interrupting the deafening silence between them.

"Just a few cracked ribs and a hairline fracture in my ankle. Nothing I can't handle," Kai said quickly and played down her injuries. To her they were nothing, but everyone else thought they were pretty severe. She fell into silence again, not used to these meaningful and serious conversations. This would be the third one she had today and she still wasn't used to them.

"How is your daughter?" she asked as she kept her tone respectful, and while Asia didn't seem to have any, Kai, herself, did and she wasn't going to stoop to Asia's level by calling her what she really thought of her. Especially not to her father. He's been through enough as it was.

"They had to sedate her," he replied, his tone holding a hint of bitterness to it.

Kai visibly winced and looked down at her skirt, noting that her hands where still tugging at the hemline. "I see."

"She woke up and started screaming something about how that witch stole her soul mate from her," he continued, sounding reluctant to say anything, but appearing that he needed to get a few things off his chest and talking was the only way. "She wouldn't stop struggling so they had no choice but to sedate her."

He suddenly sighed and leaned back in his chair, appearing exhausted as he stared at the closed door in front of them. "The police are speaking with her now."

Kai looked up at the door as well and realized that it must be Asia's room. She felt a sense of unease at being so close to the one responsible for her injuries but she pushed it aside. She then gave a deep sigh as she looked at the floor again in discomfort.

"She was talking about me," she muttered when she remembered that Mr. Rainstorm mentioned something about a witch. However, she got the feeling that witch wasn't the word used.

"How cliché, huh?" she suddenly muttered, a wry smile on her lips. "Two girls fighting over a guy."

Of course Asia didn't know that she was a girl at the time, but that was beside the point.

"She…always did go a bit overboard sometimes," he murmured to himself more so than to Kai, but she heard it none the less.

Kai pivoted in her seat to face him. "You said she changed after her mother was killed. What did you mean by that? What happened?"

Mr. Rainstorm remained silent for a long time, simply staring at the door in front of him. Kai was afraid that he might be ignoring her, which he had the right to do as they were talking about his own flesh and blood in a less than positive light. But then he suddenly gave a deep sigh and leaned forward in his seat again to rest his elbows on his legs, looking like a tired and broken man.

"The community was great, supportive and sympathetic," he said before adding bitterly, "Maybe a little too much."

Kai tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"They gathered around Arista, telling her it was ok to be angry, to be sad, to let it out," he explained. "They would counsel her, and I use the word counsel very loosely, until she either screamed at them in complete anger or burst into tears."

Kai could feel the bitterness in his voice, and while a part of her could understand why the community tried to get a reaction out of Asia as in many cases when a child loses a parent, they become closed off from the world. But she understands how annoyed and frustrated Mr. Rainstorm would be. As her father, it was his responsibility to help her through the tough times. What should have made their bond stronger appeared to have the opposite effect.

"That was ok for the few months after the death, but for years afterwards, they would pity her, letting her get away with anything. She stole from shops, beat up other kids in the streets for their belongings and was disrespectful towards her elders."

He gave another sigh and ran a tired hand through his slightly graying brown hair, his expression marred with slight anger and frustration. "And everyone was ok with that. It was always, 'oh leave her be, she lost her mother. She can't help herself'. No one ever told her that it was not ok to be violent and rude. I tried, but she wouldn't listen. And…"

"She became a little too much to handle," Kai said without meaning too and quickly realized her mistake of judging Asia in front of her father, but instead of a scowl for picking out a fault with his daughter, Mr. Rainstorm simply gave a tired sigh, his posture slumping forward even more.

"Yeah…" he said before he lifted a hand and placed it on his forehead, his voice breaking. "I feel like the worst father in this world."

"No, don't say that," Kai was quick to interject and she lifted a hand to console him, but hesitated as she knew deep inside the last thing this man needs is the victim of his daughter's wrath trying to console him. "You're a great father. You can't help the cards fate has dealt you. Maybe now Arista will finally see that her attitude wasn't doing herself any favors."

Mr. Rainstorm didn't have the same optimism. "…I don't know."

Another silence quickly fell over them and Kai found herself poking at the design on her shirt, mildly wondering why Hilary picked this one out for her. Angel? Yeah right. Ray seemed to like it, though.

_Focus at the task at hand, Kai_, she ordered herself.

"What are you going to do?" Kai asked softly, looking at the older man sitting a few seats away from her.

"I don't know that either," he said. "I don't think I can handle her abusive ways anymore."

"She needs proper counseling, not the pretend kind the community offered her," Kai said, not sure that it would help, but it wouldn't hurt to try. "She's…in a lot of trouble, you know?"

If at all possible, his posture became more weary and tired. "Yeah, I know. Unless you drop the charges?"

Kai felt her heart restrict at the words. While she doesn't want to hurt the man next to her, she simply can't let his wayward daughter get away with what she had done to her, to Ray and to everyone else she hurt in the past.

"I can't do that," she said softly, with a hint of regret in her voice. "If I do that, she'll never learn, you know that."

Another depressed sigh. "Yeah, I know."

"I'm sorry," Kai said with sincerity as she grabbed her crutched and staggered to her feet, not used to her walking aids yet. "I truly am."

Mr. Rainstorm lifted his head, his gaze holding guilt and regret. "So am I."

"We'll be leaving tomorrow," Kai said as she bowed her head forward as far as she could without toppling forward. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"Could you see Arista before you leave?" he suddenly requested.

Kai snapped her head up to look at him with disbelief. "I'm afraid I might do more damage than good at this point…" she trailed off when she noticed the pleading look in his eyes and she sighed deeply. Not many people knew this, but Kai can't stand to see a male of any shape or size cry. It began back in the Abbey where she witness many of her fellow bladers burst into tears either from fear or pain. The sight broke her heart.

"I'll think about it," she said as she turned around and began to move away. She felt torn. She didn't want anything to do with Asia, hell if she never saw her again it would be too soon, but she can't deny her father's request as he was not the one who deserved to be punished. And the fact was if they left now; there would be too many niggling questions left behind. What should she do?

"Kai?"

Kai looked up and found herself in front of her boyfriend, who in turn was looking at her with concern. "I'm ok," she reassured, but sighed deeply when she dropped her crutches and fell against his chest once again. Her chat with Asia's father took more out of her than she thought it would.

"What happened?" Ray asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist, letting Kai rest her chin on his shoulders. Guy or girl, Kai was still taller than him; not that it bothered him too much.

"He wants me to see her before I leave," Kai explained. "Do you think we should?"

Ray hesitated; stiffen at the thought of seeing Asia again. "…I don't know."


	17. Chapter 17

**Alarming Attachment**

**Summary:** It was suppose to be a relaxing vacation, but for Ray it's anything but. Meeting a girl called Asia who annoys him and dealing with Kai who appears annoyed with him, what's a neko to do? And what is it that Kai is hiding?

**Pairings:** Ray/Kai, One-sided Ray/Asia

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Anime Beyblade or any character associated. I do own Arista "Asia" Rainstorm. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not based on anyone else's character, again if any likeness, it's purely coincidental.

**Warning:** Female Kai. Usage of a female OC. She is not the hero of the story, and the fic will not be centered on her. Any fans of OC pairings should leave now. Do not ask me to turn this fic into a Ray/OC or any other canon character/OC as I cannot stand such pairings. I have no hesitation in bashing my own created characters.

**AN:** Hello everyone. I finally did it! I've finally written a new chapter to this fic. I am so sorry for taking so long to update this story. I had severe writer's block and just couldn't get this chapter right, no matter how hard I squinted at it for hours on end. I'm so mad at myself as this is the second last chapter! Writer's block just couldn't wait, unfortunately. Hopefully, I managed to get this somewhat legible to some degree.

Thank you for reviewing and being ever so patient with me. Thanks again to; dragonlilly1993, CleverPhoenix, , Tenshi of Freedom, sonata hirano, marishka91, van and grey-shadow-horse for reviewing the last chapter and to everyone else who has asked about it.

On another note, I managed to work out how to use the **forum** button ^^ And I now have my own personal **forum** going on. It has one topic at the moment and I bet you can guess what it's about. If you feel like ranting about a certain OC cliché, feel free to use my forum. I look forward to hearing what clichés out there that annoy you.

Now, without a further ado, please enjoy reading this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 17:

They didn't want to do this; Heaven knows they didn't want to. But Kai and Ray agreed that it would help the two of them move on with their lives if they could settle this little…event peacefully.

Before they leave this town for good they wanted to have one last chat with Asia. She had caused so much trouble for the two of them, harassing Ray to the point of breaking into his room in the middle of the night and assaulting Kai by pushing her down a flight of stairs in a fit of anger!

If they packed up and left without a word, no one had to right to blame them, but upon hearing a request from Asia's father who was at his wit's end, Kai felt that she needed to at least see if there was anything redeemable about her.

Somehow, though, she found it unlikely.

Ray had agreed to accompany her as he wanted answers for himself, answers to questions like how in the world did Asia come up with the idea that he was in love with her? How did she think Kai had a crush on her and was trying to break the two of them up?

They took a moment to gather themselves, Ray grasping Kai's free hand in his as she walked with one crutch now. They turned a corner down the hallway to Asia's hotel room. With his hand on the door handle leading into Asia's hotel room; Ray was slightly surprised to see two large police officers standing guard by the door, it was then that he realized just how much trouble Asia was really in.

But what really surprised Ray when he opened the door was the sight of Asia strapped down onto the hospital bed by thick restraints on her wrists. Her usually luscious brown hair was stringy and messy, her face slightly pale and her brows creased together in emotional torment.

He felt a bit sorry for her as it was obvious she wasn't in the right state of mind for her to have these restraints in the first place.

"Asia," Ray said as he stepped into the room.

Immediately, Asia snapped open her raven eyes and turned them in Ray's direction, her face brightening up considerably. "Ray! I knew you would come," she said as she sat up, tugging at her wrist restraints and gave him a distressing look.

She knew Ray truly loved her, she didn't know why he betrayed her before, but she knew he loved her. He was here to help her break out and then they would go on the run together as two passionate young lovers. Finally, she could get away from her awful father and out of this boring town.

"I knew you'd believe me," she continued as she gave him a tired but loving look. "You have to help me, please."

However, Ray simply stared at her with unflinching eyes before he shook his head sadly and took a step off to the side, revealing a certain blue haired female who stared at her with hard eyes.

"Actually…" Kai started to say when Asia suddenly lunged forward in her bed, angrily tugging at her restraints.

"You!" she snarled with so much venom in her voice. "You're the bitch who tried to steal Ray from me!"

Kai slowly shook her head, not even remotely intimidated by Asia's reaction to her. "Ray was never yours to begin with," she calmly stated.

"What the fuck do you want?" Asia snarled out as she sunk back into her bed a little, but her raven eyes still held a sense of madness within their depths. She could not believe the gall of this stupid girl. Ray was here to help her and she just had to ruin it!

"Can't you see Ray and I are meant to be together?" Asia exclaimed in a stern voice, silently telling Kai to give up and go away. You cannot stop their union from happening; she was the perfect girl for Ray, no matter what anyone else had to say. "Stop interfering."

"Asia, stop it," Ray snapped as his own eyes narrowed in anger.

Asia turned to him and looked at him with shock written across her face, surprised that he actually snapped at her. "But Ray-!"

"But nothing," Ray said, cutting her off quickly and gave her a serious look, his arms moving to fold over his chest. "There is nothing between you and I; I'm here to drive that point home."

Again, Asia was aghast that he would even say such a thing, even as a lie. "You don't mean that," she said in a soft voice, her wide eyes never once leaving Ray's face. "You fell for me at first sight as I did you, I know you did."

"What could I possibly have done that made you think I was in love with you?" Ray asked her, wondering when her fascination for him started. They've only known each other for a few days, nothing that would amount to undying love between them like she was claiming.

Asia could not believe what she was hearing. Did Ray just question the spark between them? Was he so stupid that he didn't know that he was madly in love with her? She was absolutely beautiful, sexy and incredibly sassy! What was there not to like about her?

"But we had so much chemistry between us!" she stated loudly, disbelief still prominent in her eyes. If her wrists weren't tied she would have leapt forward and slapped him right across the face for being a complete asshole to her. She really wanted to smack some sense into him.

When they finally run away together, she's going to give him the cold treatment until he finally makes up for what he has done to her.

"Like what?" Ray pressed for more answers, momentarily taking his eyes off the brunette to glance at the beautiful blue haired girl standing quietly behind him. He caught Kai's gaze for a moment and she nodded, silently telling him to continue. She wanted him to get his anger off his chest first as he had suffered the brunt of Asia's interference in his life the most, Kai will deal with her a little bit later.

"All you did was bother me with your nagging and insult my teammates, Kai in particular," Ray said as he turned back around to face her once more. "What made you think I would be ok with that? Did you really think I would find your constant put down of my friends appealing in some strange way?"

"What I said was true!" Asia quickly defended, confused as to why Ray didn't agree with her.

"No, they were not," Ray said roughly in annoyance and shook his head. He absolutely hated it whenever someone spoke bad about Kai, even more so when they refuse to apologize for their blatant lies. It just made him so angry.

"Kai is not a jerk or a heartless bastard, and Hilary is on the team because she's our friend who has earned our respect," Ray quickly explained to her, his brow creasing in anger. "It doesn't matter whether or not she can't blade. We already have enough bladers, we don't need any more."

He was also sick of people claiming that Hilary was a bitch who served no purpose on the team whatsoever. Some even tried to replace her, claiming that they were much better suited for the team than she was.

Tears immediately sprung to Asia's eyes. "Why can't I be a part of the team if she is?!" she cried.

"Because you don't have our respect," Ray snapped, causing Asia to reel back in shock at the response. "You don't even have our friendship. Asia, you've done nothing at all to earn the right to be on our team."

"I am the daughter whose father runs the hotel you were staying at!" Asia cried, quickly becoming more and more mentally and emotionally unstable. She tugged harshly on her wrist restraints whenever she moved forward; appearing as though she wanted to throw herself at him. "Can't you see our meeting was destiny?!"

"I've been to countless hotels before," Ray pointed out calmly. "Were the people I met there a part of my destiny as well?"

"No, I'm the one for you! It's fate, dammit!" Asia cried as she shook her head frantically, becoming angry at the thought of some unworthy bitch getting anywhere near her Ray. Couldn't he see that they were meant to be? She was the only girl for him; she was perfect for him. She was sassy, feisty, someone who could tame his wild ways, and someone who could turn him into a more respectable young man. He was meant to be with her, no one else!

"We are meant to be; I'm sexy, I'm beautiful, I'm sassy! I'm just what you need!" she continued to yell, tears pouring from her angry eyes. "You have to love someone like me! I don't care who else is in your life, I know I'm much better than any of them!"

Ray was quickly becoming fed up with her and immediately regretted coming to see her in the first place. He knew he should have just gathered his things and pushed everyone onto the bus so they could flee the area. Asia was not worth the agitation at all.

"I could never love someone who was self-centered, insulting and demanding, so that's why I don't love you," Ray snapped.

"What…?" Asia whispered in shock as she stopped tugging at the restraints for a moment. She then abruptly turned her attention onto Kai in the background and pulled at her restraints harshly in an attempt to get at her. "It was you, wasn't it? You made him say those things, you selfish whore!"

Kai had been listening quietly in the background as Ray tried to get some sense out of Asia and felt herself slowly becoming more annoyed by her inconsistent ramblings about fate and how she was destined to be with him on the sole purpose that she was sexy and the hotel owner's daughter. She could not give them a plausible reason at all and Kai, though still very irritated with her, was beginning to pity her. With her blatant disrespect for everyone, she will never find someone to love her unconditionally.

She could not believe how self-centered and selfish Asia was; everything had to involve her in some way. She demanded respect but did nothing to earn it. She wanted to be a member of their team just because she considered herself better than Hilary. She refused to come to grips of her own responsibility. It was like she refused to believe that their world didn't revolve around her.

But when Asia suddenly turned to her, accusing her of forcing Ray to do this, Kai couldn't take anymore.

"Stop it! Arista, you need to grow up!" Kai yelled at her with blatant anger and frustration in her voice. "Think about what you're doing to your father. Think about your mother. Do you think she would be proud of what you've been doing? It doesn't matter who you are, you cannot continue with what you're doing. You're going to anger the wrong person one of these days. Blaming your deceased mother on your behavior is tarnishing her name. Is that what you want?"

"Shut up!" Asia suddenly screamed, her eyes taking on a hint of utter madness. "Don't you dare talk about my mother, you stupid bitch! You don't know what you're talking about! My mother was murdered-"

"You're mother died pushing you out of the way of a speeding car, Arista," Kai said calmly as she limped closer to Ray, standing by his side as he wisely opted to stay silent, quite surprised by that little piece of information she just revealed. "You need to stop lying to everyone."

Asia immediately stilled in her struggling and stared at Kai in blatant disbelief. "How did you…?" she whispered before her face quickly returned to the state of anger. "No, you're lying! My mother was murdered and my father abandoned me!"

"You're father did no such thing!" Kai snapped as she remembered the weary look of defeat on her older man's face and how lost he felt. It really tugged at Kai's heartstrings and she hated how teens these days immediately blamed their parents for not caring when in reality they cared too much. "He has always been there for you! You're the one who's making your life difficult, no one else!"

"Shut up!" Asia screamed loudly as her struggling continued. "I've done nothing wrong!"

"You are deluded!" Kai, in turned, yelled back at her. She was losing all patience with the brunette on the bed.

"Kai!" Ray said, clearly able to see that she was becoming distressed as well as neither of them appeared to be getting through to Asia. He took a quick step forward and placed his hands on her hips, pulling her back gently so her back rested against his chest. "Easy Kai."

Kai took a moment to draw in a deep breath, sinking back into Ray's arms that have now wrapped themselves around her waist. "You harassed Ray, broke into his room in the middle of the night, physically assaulted me, pushed me down a flight of stair and then locked me down there, injured!" Kai said, still riled up but not as bad as before. "Look me in the eyes and tell me to my face that you did nothing wrong."

However, Asia still refused to take any responsibility for her less than stellar actions. "I've never done anything wrong before! You provoked me! You insulted and lied to me, I had to retaliate!" she then turned her gaze back on Ray, her narrow eyes filled with anger and betrayal. "You believe me, don't you Ray? You know I've done nothing wrong, right?"

Ray sighed and shook his head. "Arista…"

"My name is Asia, not Arista!" she corrected him, she hated when people called her by her real name. "Why are you doing this to me? Ray, after everything we've done together…"

"I love Kai."

Asia physically reeled back in surprise at Ray's incredibly blunt reply. "What?"

"You heard me; I'm in love with Kai," Ray said as he tightened his grip on the female in his arms and rested his chin on her shoulder, subtly trying to calm Kai down a little. "I have been for a while."

"Y-you would actually choose her over me?" Asia stuttered as she shook her head slowly at first before her movements became more frantic, refusing to believe that she never had a chance with Ray in the first place. "You can't!"

"I didn't choose her over you; you weren't even in the running in the first place," Ray stated calmly, smiling softly when he felt Kai settle herself into his arms.

"What!? No, you're lying!" Asia exclaimed as she shook her head desperately.

That was not supposed to happen. If Ray did have feelings for someone else before meeting her, he was supposed to forget all about them the moment he laid eyes on her! He was supposed to be in awe of her natural beauty, dry wit and flighty attitude. He was not supposed to ignore her; he was supposed to fall madly in love with her! It happens all the time!

"Ray, let's go," Kai whispered to him as she looked at the young female on the bed with a sense of pity in her eyes. "She's too far gone for the two of us to handle."

"You're right," Ray said sadly as he reluctantly pulled away from her.

Then, the two of them turned their backs on the hysterically crying woman and walked out through the door, letting it shut behind them. They both felt a sense of defeat and yet knew there was nothing more they could have done. They could not help someone who felt she didn't need help in the first place.

Asia's road to recovery will be a long one, which was for sure. But she will get there…well, they hope so for her father's sake.

Speaking of which, Kai had to inform him that their conversation didn't go exactly to plan.


End file.
